The Abolitionist Movement

The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Abolitionists sought to realize these ideals. The Abolitionist Movement was a reform movement during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was also known as the antislavery movement. It sought toend the enslavement of Africans and also the Atlantic slave trade. Many historical figures come to mind when we think about the Abolitionist Movement for example; Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Henry Highland Garnet and many others who became great leaders. The Abolitionist Movement was seen as a threat because many slaveholders believed slavery was needed for a better economy andthey might have feared the consequences to giving all the slaves their freedom. Although the end of slavery was an agreed upon goal, the abolitionists were divided over the best means to achieve it and were seen as threatening.
For many years, it seemed that the only Americans willing to challenge the existence of slavery were Quakers, slaves, and free blacks. Quakers believed that all people,regardless of race, had a spark inside them and were equal in the eyes of God. They were also known as the religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church. Most Quakers owned slaves and to most of them "slavery was perfectly acceptable provided that slave owners attended to the spiritual and material needs of those they enslaved.” Their first goal was to abolish slave trade amongst Quakers. Theyworked hard at freeing slaves in many different ways. Susan B. Anthony was a Quaker, and did a lot of antislavery work. The Quakers were very strong force in the Underground Railroad, and their efforts helped free many slaves.

The Underground Railroad was an organization led by abolitionist and other allies who hid runaway slaves in safe homes and helped them through secret escape routes.These routes led the slaves to free states and Canada. One estimate suggests that by 1850, 100,000 slaves had escaped via the "Railroad”. The so called conductors were the ones who moved the runaways from station to station. To keep this network in secret many people associated with Underground Railroad knew only their part of their operation. The fugitives sometimes traveled on boat or train and mostusually traveled on foot or wagon. Others had a different way of traveling like, Henry “Box” Brown, who packed himself inside a crate and literally had himself shipped to Georgia to freedom in the North. The best known African American abolitionist for helping free many slaves was Harriet Tubman. She was born in Maryland on 1820. She successful escaped from slavery to Philadelphia in 1849 andduring the next decade risked her life by making some twenty trips back to her state of birth to lead relatives and other slaves to freedom. She later helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era struggled for women's suffrage.
One of the most influential leaders and abolitionist was Frederick Douglass. He was born as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey onFebruary 1818. His family and him were born into slavery. His father is unknown but it is believed it could be his owner. It is from his owner’s wife Sophia Auld that Douglass learns that knowledge must be the way through freedom. She would give young Douglass reading lessons. Her husband, Hugh Auld, finds out about the lessons and orders his wife to stop Douglass’s reading lesson. “Whilst I wassaddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I had gained from my master.” Douglass overheard Hugh Auld’s words and realized that whites would hold blacks in their power through a series of strategies. For example, many white slaveholders believed slaves should be kept ignorant by depriving the slaves...