Compare And Contrast Lloyd And David Walker Abolitionist Movement

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specific evidence from the assigned readings to support your answer. David Walker and William Lloyd Garrison were prominent abolitionists during the 1830’s. Their antislavery arguments were similar because they both affirmed the need for immediate action. However, Walker’s approach towards abolishing slavery was more radical than Garrison’s. In Appeal, Walker specifically addressed his writing to African Americans, asserting that the power to bring change laid in their hands if they armed themselves and rebelled against slaveholders. Walker claimed in Appeal that white men were so eager to maintain their wealth through the institution of slavery that they did not think twice about murdering African Americans and subjecting them to degrading conditions. Consequently, Walker justified taking up arms against masters to his audience by creating a situational comparison: “It is no more harm for you to kill a man who is trying to kill you than it is for you to take a drink of water when thirsty” (Walker). By creating a kill or be killed mentality, Walker emphasized the need for immediate action while also endorsing violence as the means to end slavery. In contrast, Garrison approached abolition in terms of the Declaration of Independence. In To the Public, Garrison claimed that the language of the Declaration applied to …show more content…

They represented over two-thirds of the petitions sent to Congress that demanded the end of slavery during the 1840’s. In addition to this, women formed organizations, such as the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, and set up abolition conventions in order to actively support the cause. In The First New England Female Anti-Slavery Society, the author stressed the influence of women’s activism. Because some women felt a sense duty to join the abolitionist cause, their endeavors through societies helped the antislavery movement gain