Unit Twelve: “A House Divided” Abolition Movement: Part Two

Division of the Abolition Movement The next major issue that divided the Abolition Movement was over Race; if black people should be allowed to participate in all aspects of the movement, also civil equality or just abolition. Martin Delany due to the belief that the white ruling class in America would never allow blacks to receive full civil equality began the Black Nationalist Movement through his paper the Mystery and also supported colonization programs with his book The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, Politically Considered (1852).

Division of the Abolition Movement The last division was over what tactics should be used to meet the goals of the Abolition movement; should it be merely moral speeches and newspaper articles, should it be more involved through the purchase of freedom to end it, should it be political with an amendment to the constitution, or should it be more radical through inciting slave rebellions and helping slaves escape their plantation with the aid of safe houses in the North or Canada.

Division of the Abolition Movement The idea to use the U.S. Constitution and the Federal Government through political action was started by Lewis Tappan and James Birney with the creation of the Liberty Party (a third party that advocated the end of slavery) A more Radical move was by Garrison who burned a copy of the Constitution, stating that slavery could only be purged from American society by rewriting the U.S. Constitution. Garrison ideas angered many Americans North and South making many believe that his radical thoughts would incite slave revolts, violence, or civil war.

Division of the Abolition Movement The other major radical turn in the Abolition Movement was to go against state and Federal laws by aiding slaves in escaping from slavery into the North, Canada, or Mexico through the Underground Railroad (a loose connection of people and safe houses through the south to the north to aid escaping slaves). The most notable “conductor” of the Underground Railroad was Harriet Tubman “Black Moses” who helped more than 100 hundred slaves escape slavery. William Still was another major conductor and is known as the “Father of the Underground Railroad” (He helped up to sixty people a month)

The Underground Railroad Click picture above to take the journey

Opposition to Abolitionism In the North most people opposed abolitionism either entirely or disagreed with some of its ideas or its possible affect. Workers and laborers in the North opposed abolitionism because of the fear of competing with free blacks for jobs. (most notable Irish) Most people in the North including Abolitionists were either prejudice (unfavorable pre-thought about a person) disagreeing civil equality, miscegenation (race mixing), and blacks and whites living to together, or were racist (sense of hatred or superiority about another race).

Opposition to Abolitionism Other Northerners opposed it because they thought it would destroy the social order and the tear the nation apart starting Civil War. A big point of opposition was that some people agreed with abolitionism, but did not agree with full equality (treating everyone the same). In the North many abolitionists were attacked by mobs including Elijah P. Lovejoy who was killed and his newspaper was destroyed. Also across the North many race riots broke out against free blacks. (most notable in Cincinnati, Ohio)

Opposition to Abolitionism In the South opposition to abolitionism was ingrained into the society with slave owners, non-slave owners, and even slaves. (Many did not like the system, but did not want it to end) Slavery was called the Peculiar Institution because it was specific to the Southern States and Southern society was completely shaped around it. The Peculiar Institution has also been used to denote that at this time in history slavery was abolished everywhere else in the world, expect the country that declared that “all men are created equal”.

Opposition to Abolitionism The Southern Congressmen had gag rules (not allowing for debate) passed on the topic of slavery, not only in the state legislatures, but also in both Houses of Congress. Abolitionist material was suppressed (censored) in the South through the U.S. mail to keep it from spreading any Anti-Slavery sentiment. Many southerners simply denied any miss- givings of slavery, focusing on its “positive” features on black and white southern society, due to its profitability and because Southern culture was shaped around it.

Opposition to Abolitionism The major Southern pro-slavery writer George Fitzhugh in his book Cannibals All stated that slaves in the South were better off in slavery than as “wage slaves” in the Northern factories. (He believed in an early form of socialism, and thought most people were not capable of caring for themselves and needed to be slaves.) Harrison Berry, a Georgia slave, wrote the book Slavery and Abolitionism which praised the system of slavery by stating that southern slaves were better off in America than Africa or in Northern factories. (many slaves had this same view) The Bible was used by many in the South to justify and condemn the institution of slavery.

La Amistad One specific event that pushed the abolish question to the front, forcing the nation to discuss the issue was the Las Amistad Trials. A group of slaves led by Sengbe Pieh had revolted aboard the slave ship La Amistad and was captured off the Coast of America, which led to the question if they were free, slave, or criminals. The La Amistad Trial went before the U.S. Supreme Court (John Q. Adams was the lawyer for the slaves) which resulted in their freedom and return to Africa. (The importance of the trial was that it put the question to national debate, and also gave light that the Federal Government through law or rulings could determine the fate of slavery in America, not each state).

Popular Sovereignty Another issue that pushed abolitionism to national attention was the idea of Lewis Cass’s Popular Sovereignty (the idea that each territory upon applying for statehood chose whether to be a free state or a slave state. Even though his idea was seen as a compromise measure it led directly to open conflict and bloodshed between radical abolitionists and pro-slavery radicals.

National Division over slavery