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1776 To 1852

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Throughout 1776 to 1852 the ever-changing United States was in the process of developing increasingly deeper and stronger attitudes toward the abolishment of slavery. In no other years, but those between 1776 to pre-Civil War, had the United States been as nearly determined to eradicate slavery. There were numerous reasons behind the need to put an end to slavery, some derived from the ideals of the Revolutionary War, the Second Great Awakening, Antebellum Reform Period, and Manifest Destiny. The Revolutionary War took place in order for Americans to gain independence from the British, and it not only fought for freedom, but also equality—one of the leading justifications for abolition. Moreover, the first Europeans came to America for religious …show more content…

Additionally, expansion and geography played a significant role in abolitionist endeavors. The thirst to expand American borders stretching from the Atlantic to Pacific aided in climaxing the tension between those who wanted the new land acquired as free states and those who wanted slave states. With the majority of states north of the Mason-Dixon Line pressing for the abolition of slaves and the states south of the line urging to allow slavery to spread west, the sectional divide caused for a strong opposition to slavery. Therefore, the driving forces for abolition came from religious reasons, expansion and geography, and ideas of equality.
To begin, religion and faith were the foundations for the increasing denunciation of slavery. If instead of the argument for equality being used for the abolition movement, religion was in its place. The pilgrims first came to America for religious freedom, beginning in the Northern colonies which were heavily religious and also happened to be where abolition was the strongest as well the region in which early abolishment began. Further, the United States underwent two great awakenings, in which …show more content…

Early abolition grew out of the upper northeast, starting with Vermont being the first state that abolished slavery in 1777. Other states located around Vermont followed suit soon after, and the Northwest Territory (what today is Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio) prohibited slavery as a part of the Northwest Ordinance. Furthermore, the Missouri Compromise is part of the explanation for the rise of the opposition to slavery as the 36° 30’ line split the United States between slaveholders in the South and abolitionists in the North. Slavery, however, was not only limited to the South as some people living in the Northern States supported it, and some Southerners refused it. Regardless, the lesser use of slaves in the North was partially due to the different type of soil there, which supports why abolishment feelings were passionate. In the South, the soil was fertile and excellent for growing a wide variety of crops and had long growing seasons; in the North, the soil was rocky and the growing season was shorter. As one can tell from this, slaves were more of a necessity in the South due to their high importance for working the land and not as much in the North because the land did not require the same amount of rigorous slave labor. (Document A) Moreover, at the end of the Manifest Destiny era, the United States succeeded in achieving its goal of dominating North

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1000 Words | 4 Pages

A widespread of movements to end abolition in pre-civil war era ensued and the end of the now illegal Atlantic Slave Trade, as it was continued in Brazil and Cuba until the late 1850’s, even though the US ended it in 1807. The theory was, in the minds of western European countries, if there was still a market for African slaves in the Americas, trade would still continue (Hardt 2000). Many religious groups in parts of Europe and America determined slavery as unorthodox and inhumane. The Enlightenment during this time also made comments on slavery, determining slavery as a violation of basic human rights. The U.S. saw high levels of abolitionism the first half of the century, where in 1817, three thousand free blacks protested in Philadelphia to advocate for the agreement that white and blacks were deserving of the same rights.

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800 Words | 4 Pages

With time, states such as Vermont and New Hampshire joined the fight on the abolishment of slavery, both states made it illegal to own slaves. Eventually Pennsylvania and Rhode Island would declare it illegal as well, the South knew they were fighting a war that they were slowly losing to the North. By the end of 1790, more than twelve-thousand slaves were free due to the progressive changes the North were making. Thomas Jefferson, a salient founding father wrote

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1546 Words | 7 Pages

For several decades slavery ran ramped in the United States, and by the 1850s-1860s there were different opinions about whether to keep it, abolish it, or contain it where it is. Most understand that the south was pro-slavery, their further intentions were to expand into the new territories the US had purchased from Mexico and from the Louisiana Purchase. Then, there was a small minority group in the north that wished to abolish slavery from the entire US, and this group was disliked by both northerners and southerners. The majority of the north, however, didn’t mind keeping slavery in the south where it already existed, but they did not want it to expand into the new states Congress was carving out of the purchased territories. Each of this groups disliked one

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1359 Words | 6 Pages

During this time many people wanted to continue with slavery and treat others inferior. However, in the sermons given out about Chirstianity people spread the message that everyone is equal to God which is why slavery should be abolished. In document 3, Walker talks about the importance of being free and reaches out to people to become abolitionists and to slaves to fight for their freedom. This is significant because the author wants to help abolish slavery due to all of the suffering slaves have gone through and he does this to support the idea that everyone is the same and that they should show God that they can fight for their freedom. This shows that the religious ideas of the Second Great Awakening did have a great impact in the slavery abolition movements because due to the sermons and the idea that everyone is equal in God’s perspective many people were influenced to become abolitionists and help end slavery.

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1216 Words | 5 Pages

Abolitionism was a well-known movement around the time of the Civil War and its aim was to put an end to slavery. The people of the early nineteenth century viewed the elimination of slavery in numerous ways. Some fought against the end of slavery, some appeared to mildly support the cause and yet others wholeheartedly supported the ending of slavery until their dying day. Charles Finney was a religious leader who promoted social reforms such as the abolition of slavery. He also fought for equality in education for women as well as for African Americans.

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1069 Words | 5 Pages

Slavery was a major part of the american way of life, but there were many causes of the resistance to it. Even though many states in the United States opposed and are resisting the act of slavery, many events had a big impact on the ending of slavery. The second great awakening, industrial revolution, and abolishment movement are underlying forces of growing opposition to slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1852. The opposition and abolishment of slavery changed american history.

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723 Words | 3 Pages

The growing causes of opposition to slavery and growing support for abolition from 1776-1852 were far and many. Many factors, such as the influence of the rich on the legislation, a religious reawakening among the Black and White peoples of America, the formation of African-American rights association, the adoption of the issue by the media, and the arrival of women to the issue, among others, contributed to the common people’s rejection of slavery. The North were the first to pick up the idea of abolition: in 1777, the Northern state of Vermont was the first to adopt emancipation into their state constitution, followed by Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire in 1783; state law allowed for gradual emancipation in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,

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1268 Words | 6 Pages

“Slavery was of crucial importance to the national economy. Americans could not have sustained their economic viability, and hence their political independence, without it. Then, too, they believed that liberty rested on property, and, whatever else they might have been, slaves were property” (Busick, Malvasi). Americans did not view slaves as real people, and degraded them to the level of objects, or property. Despite the American Revolution being inspired by Enlightenment ideas, Americans believed that these ideas did not

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785 Words | 4 Pages

Although the “free” North abolished slavery, the idea of white supremacy was dominant. ‘“...We are of another race and he is inferior. Let him know his place - and keep it.’” (Doc B) The spread of the abolition of slavery throughout the United States began in 1777 through 1865 and sparked the limits of determining a black person’s freedom.

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107 Words | 1 Pages

Abolition was the demand to remove the institution of slavery and to make all people free. However, it was a movement that was not present until the American Revolution was nearing its end. 1780, Pennsylvania became the first state to begin taking small steps to abolish slavery. This being several years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we can logically assume that slavery was not a large concern up to that point. A third of the declaration focused on the rights that Britain was taking away from the colonies, but they paid no attention to the rights they themselves were neglecting of African American slaves.

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1246 Words | 5 Pages

The Second Great Awakening’s Impact on Abolitionism in the North The Second Great Awakening during the late 18th and 19th centuries sparked many reform movements in the United States. The new enlightenment age fostered scientific thought that often challenged traditional Christian practices. Principles of “Deism” and “Unitarianism” were religious philosophies that focused on free will, reason, and science.

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828 Words | 4 Pages

“The South grew, but it did not develop,” is the way one historian described the South during the beginning of the nineteenth century because it failed to move from an agrarian to an industrial economy. This was primarily due to the fact that the South’s agricultural economy was skyrocketing, which caused little incentive for ambitious capitalists to look elsewhere for profit. Slavery played a major role in the prosperity of the South’s economy, as well as impacting it politically and socially. However, despite the common assumption that the majority of whites in the South were slave owners, in actuality only a small minority of southern whites did in fact own slaves. With a population of just above 8 million, the number of slaveholders was only 383,637.

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713 Words | 3 Pages

In the wake of the second Great Awakening in the early 1800’s, societal morals regarding slavery, lack of rights for women, the prison system, education, and other institutions were questioned. Unitarianism stressed salvation through good works, and both religious converts and transcendentalists initiated social reform movements in an attempt to improve the moral state of America. Two of these movements that included perhaps the most controversy and struggle included abolitionism and women’s rights. Although both the abolitionist and women’s rights movements were able to eventually create lasting societal and political change, the fact that only a small portion of the population had any democratic rights showed the initial weaknesses of American democracy.

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1240 Words | 5 Pages

The development of slavery and self-government in the Americas from the colonial to the revolutionary period presents two main contradictions which are important not in setting the stage for the American Revolution but also help to establish division between the colonies after the Revolution leading into the Civil War. While one contradiction applies exclusively to the Northern colonies, the other applies to all the colonies and is a key factor leading up to the American Revolution. For the New England colonies, the contradiction between the development of slavery and self-government lies behind the reason these colonies were developed. Around 1608, the Separatists, beginning to receive more hostility from the Anglican Church and government

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650 Words | 3 Pages

Slavery in America first began in the first permanent English settlement, Jamestown, in 1619. African slaves were brought to this colony to assist the colonist in the production of the profitable crop tobacco. Slavery in America would go on to be practiced throughout the America until the late 18th century. The abolition movement was an endeavor to abolish slavery in the United States.

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