The Movement to End Slavery - summary

A summery of Section 4 from Chapter 14, written by Faustine Francoise, followed by video summaries from Enes and Kaltrina. 

Chapter 14
Section 4: The Movement to End Slavery

Some Americans had opposed slavery since before the country was founded.

In the 1830s, Americans took more organized action supporting abolition, a com

plete end to slavery. Abolitionists came from many different backgrounds and opposed slavery for various reasons. The Quakers were among the first groups to challenge slavery on religious grounds. Some believed that African Americans should receive the same treatment as white Americans. Other abolitionists were against full political and social equality. They wanted to send freed African Americans to Africa to start new colonies. They thought that this would prevent conflicts between the races in the United States. 

Abolitionists found many ways to further their cause. Some went on speaking tours or wrote pamphlets and newspaper articles. In 1833 William Llyod Garrison helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society. It wanted immediate emancipation and racial equality for African Americans and Garrison became its president. In 1840 the society split. One group wanted immediate freedom for enslaved African Americans and a bigger role for women. The others wanted gradual emancipation and for women to play only minor roles in the movement. 

By the 1830s, an organized group had begun helping slaves escape from the South. Free African Americans, former slaves, and a few white abolitionists worked together.They created what became known as the Underground Railroad. The organization was not an actual railroad but was a network of people who arranged transportation and hiding places for fugitives, or escaped slaves.

Although the North was the center of the abolitionist movement, many white northerners agreed with the South and supported slavery. Newspaper editors and politicians warned that freed slaves would move north and take jobs from white workers. Many white southerners saw slavery as vital to the South's economy and culture.