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| − | '''Abolitionism''' was a movement that sought to end the institution of [[slavery]] and the worldwide slave trade. It originated with the [[Quakers]] in the [[United Kingdom]] and eventually spread to other areas, including the [[United Kingdom|British]] colonies in [[North America]]. | + | '''Abolitionism''' was British and American movement to end the institution of [[slavery]] and the worldwide slave trade. It originated with the [[Quakers]] in Briatin and the US around 1750, and attracted mostly evangelicals. The '''abolitionists''' were those who were actively against slavery. The term usually refers to the abolitionist movement in the [[United States]] and in [[Britain]]. The international slave trade was made illegal around 1810, and enforced by the British Navy. All the northern states in the U.S. abolished slavery 1777-1803, and the British Empire abolished it in the 1830s in its Caribbean colonies and Canada. |
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| − | The first abolition organization formed in the [[United States]] was the [[Pennsylvania Abolition Society]], originally known as the Society for the "Relief for Free Negroes unlawfully held in Bondage", in 1775.<ref>http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=634</ref> Organizations such as these made use of the [[Underground Railroad]], a loosely organized system for secretly transporting southern slaves into the free northern states.
| + | Slavery died out peacefully in most countries because it was unprofitable, as in the Roman Empire and in Brazil in the 1880s. |
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| − | The heart of the American abolition movement was in [[Massachusetts]], including U.S. Senator [[Charles Sumner]] and President [[John Quincy Adams]].
| + | Although slavery is outlawed in most countries today, it is still practiced by Arabs in parts of Africa in secret. |
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| − | Slavery was outlawed in the United States in 1865 with the passage of the [[Thirteenth Amendment]], although specific states abolished it starting in 1777.
| + | ==U.S.== |
| | + | The first abolition organization formed in the [[United States]] was the [[Pennsylvania Abolition Society]], originally known as the Society for the "Relief for Free Negroes unlawfully held in Bondage", in 1775.<ref>http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=634</ref> Organizations such as these made use of the [[Underground Railroad]], a loosely organized system for secretly transporting a few hundred slaves into Canada. |
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| | + | The American [[abolitionist movement]] reached its peak 1840-1865; it avchieved success during the [[American Civil War]] when slavery was ended and outlawed. The forces that were lined up for the continuation of slavery were strong and numerous; the abolitionists were few in number and had no political power before 1860 but were guided by a strong religious belief and the moral need to right a horrible wrong. |
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| | + | Abolitionists argued that the action of capturing Africans and selling them as slaves was as bad as the capture and selling of Joseph had been. Pro-slavery spokesmen pointed out that the Bible repeatedly endorsed slavery and denounced the abolitionists for trying to start a race war that would kill many thousands of blacks and whites, as happened in [[Haiti]] in the 1790s. |
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| | + | Historians debate whether the abolitionists ignited a frenzy that led to a war with 600,000 deaths that could have been avoided. [[Neoabolitionist]]s are 20th century historians who used the moral themese of the original abolitionists to rewrite history in terms of the evils of slavery and racism. |
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| | + | ==Famous Abolitionists== |
| | + | *[[John Brown]], terrorist who tried to start a race war in 1859 |
| | + | *[[Harriet Beecher Stowe]], author of ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' a novel that promoted abolitionism in the 1850s |
| | + | *[[Levi Coffin]] |
| | + | *[[Frederick Douglass]], black leader |
| | + | *[[Sojourner Truth]], black leader |
| | + | *[[Harriet Tubman]], black leader |
| | + | *[[Charles Finney]], evangelist |
| | + | *[[William Lloyd Garrison]], the most influential leader |
| | + | *[[William Wilberforce]], British leader |
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| | + | ==Further reading== |
| | + | * Stewart, James Brewer. ''Holy Warriors: The Abolitionists and American Slavery'' (1997) [http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Warriors-Abolitionists-American-Slavery/dp/080901596X/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241017691&sr=8-13 excerpt and text search] |
| | + | * Lowance, Mason, ed. ''Against Slavery: An Abolitionist Reader'' (2000) 384pp; primary sources [http://www.amazon.com/Against-Slavery-Abolitionist-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140437584/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241017836&sr=1-10 excerpt and text search] |
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| − | Although slavery is outlawed in most countries today, it is still practiced in some areas of the world, mostly in secret.
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| | ==References== | | ==References== |
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| | ==See Also== | | ==See Also== |
| − | *[[Abolitionist]] | + | *[[Slavery]] |
| | + | * [[American Civil War]] |
| | + | *[[Second Great Awakening]] |
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| | ==Links== | | ==Links== |
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| | [[category:Political Movements]] | | [[category:Political Movements]] |
| | [[Category:Slavery]] | | [[Category:Slavery]] |
| | + | [[Category:American Civil War]] |
| | + | [[Category:Black History]] |
| | + | [[Category:Civil Rights]] |
| | + | [[Category:Reconstruction]] |