Essential Information & explanations, latest texts & monographs on
Abolitionism.
Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton
American Slavery American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia by Edmund S. Morgan
The Transformation of American Abolitionism: Fighting Slavery in the Early Republic by Richard S. Newman
Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War (Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies) by Drew Gilpin Faust
All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery by Henry Mayer
Slave Badges and the Slave-Hire System in Charleston, South Carolina, 1783-1865 by Harlan Greene
American Negro Slave Revolts by Herbert Aptheker
Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839 by Fanny Kemble
John Brown by David R. Roediger
Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation by Larry Eugene Rivers
Forlorn Hope of Freedom: The Liberty Party in the Old Northwest, 1838-1848 by Vernon L. Volpe
African American Slave Narratives : An Anthology by Sterling Lecater Bland
Slave Narratives (Library of America) by William L. Andrews
Lincoln Douglas and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate by David Zarefsky
Brand Whitlock's the Buckeyes: Politics and Abolitionism in an Ohio Town, 1836-1845 by Brand, Whitlock
Abolitionism
This page is about the abolition of slavery. For a page on the general concept of abolition, see abolition.
Abolitionism, a political movement that sought to abolish slavery and the slave trade, started with The Enlightenment and became a large movement in several nations of the 19th century. The movement continues to this day.
Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide")
1 Roots of abolitionism
2 Abolition of slavery in various countries
2.1 France
2.2 United Kingdom
2.3 Russia
2.4 Other nations
2.5 International abolition
3 Abolitionism in the United States
4 Notable American abolitionists
5 British abolitionists
6 Historians working in areas connected with abolitionism
7 Literature relating to abolition in the United States
8 Other movements described as abolitionist
9 External links
Roots of abolitionism
Saint Patrick, the 5th-century British bishop who popularized Christianity in Ireland, was perhaps the first writer to advocate the abolition of slavery.
For details see the main articles Second Great Awakening and Origins of the American Civil War.
Although some prominent American writers were advocating the gradual abolition of slavery much earlier, in the 18th century, the abolitionist movement in the USA was largely an outgrowth of the Second Great Awakening of the early nineteenth century, which encouraged Northern Protestants - especially those among the emerging middle classes - to assume a more active role in both religious and civic affairs. Belief in abolition contributed to the foundation of some denominations, such as the Free Methodist Church.
The abolitionism of the mid-nineteenth century was generally close to the era's other influential reform movements, such as the temperance movement, anti-Catholic nativism, public schooling, and prison- and asylum-building. Although the movement was quite diverse, from the standpoint of the mainstream abolitionists, slaveholding interests went against their conception of the "Protestant work ethic". Abolitionism was a feature of an era marked by various approaches to deal with society's outcasts.
Abolition of slavery in various countries
France
France first abolished slavery during the French Revolution in 1794. Slavery was then restored in 1802, but was re-abolished in 1848 in France and all countries in its empire.
United Kingdom
Although slavery was never widespread within England, many English merchants became wealthy through the slave trade. Slavery was abolished in 1772 by the ruling of Judge Lord Mansfield, but corporations were allowed to continue trading slaves in British colonies. Between 1782 and 1807, Britain traded in over one million human lives.
A statesman named William Wilberforce led the antislavery movement in England, and in 1807 he helped persuade Parliament to pass a bill outlawing the slave trade throughout the British Empire. The ban was enforced by the Royal Navy. Even after 1807 slaves were still held, though not sold, within British states.
A concerted campaign led by William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson led to the abolition of all slavery throughout the empire in 1833. £20 million was paid in compensation to plantation owners in the Caribbean.
Russia
Although serfs in the Imperial Russia were techically not slaves, they were nonetheless forced to work and were forbidden to leave their assigned land. The Russian emancipation of the serfs on March 3, 1861 by Tsar Alexander II of Russia is known as 'abolition of slavery' in Russia.
Other nations
Slavery was abolished in these nations in these years:
International abolition
Slavery still exists in many parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. Concerted campaigns to rid the world of slavery are ongoing.
On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 4 states:
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Abolitionism in the United States
For further details see Origins of the American Civil War.
In the United States, abolitionists were involved in the conflict between North and South. While the Quakers were particularly noted for activity in this movement, it was by no means limited to Quaker participation. This issue was one of several that led to the creation of the Free Methodist denomination, a group which split from the Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1860s.
Many American abolitionists took an active role in opposing slavery by supporting the Underground Railroad. This was made illegal by the federal Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.
After the Emancipation Proclamation, American abolitionists continued to pursue the freedom of slaves in the remaining slave states, and to better the conditions of black Americans generally. From these principles the US civil rights movement would eventually take form.
Notable American abolitionists
British abolitionists
Historians working in areas connected with abolitionism
Literature relating to abolition in the United States
Other movements described as abolitionist
External links
The above article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
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