Slavery was a very important part of American history with many people for and against slavery. Abolitionists were people who thought that slavery should not exist and slaves should be treated like people and not property. The abolitionists helped to try to end slavery from 1780 to 1880. Numerous abolitionists assisted slaves in escaping slavery. For example, Harriet Tubman helped with the Underground Railroad freeing three hundred enslaved African Americans. William Lloyd Garrison also helped by writing a newspaper, The Liberator, sharing his thoughts about slavery. Many more abolitionists changed history. Abolitionists played a very crucial role in the ending of slavery.
Abolitionists helped slaves escape through the Underground Railroad
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Her last rescue was in 1860 helping approximately seventy slaves escape to freedom. Harriet Tubman was a slave herself in the 1820s. By the time she was five, she was working as a house servant. Seven years later she got sent to work in the fields. In her early teens, she tried to protect another field hand from an overseer and got hit in the head with a two-pound weight. She then suffered spells causing her to fall into a deep sleep randomly. When Harriet Tubman was a slave, she was led to freedom, and later came back for her family to lead them to freedom. Slave owners soon got tired of her freeing their “property” so they offered a $40,000 reward for her capture. She was not disliked by everyone, however, people who liked her civil disobedience called her “Black Moses.” Harriet Tubman was a very important abolitionist who took her own experience and saved …show more content…
Like any abolitionist, William Garrison thought slavery was evil and should be ended immediately. In 1831, he wrote the most influential anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator. On the first page of Garrison’s newspaper, he said, “ I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice….I am in earnest….I will not excuse-I will not retreat a single inch-and I WILL BE HEARD.” He was indeed heard. Garrison spoke passionately against slavery from his first issue in 1831, until his last issue in 1865. He wrote his thoughts and feelings for three decades for the rights of slaves. Many people however did not agree with Garrison in his newspaper, but that did not stop him from believing that all Americans should be treated equally. He later helped organize the New England Anti-Slavery Society and the American Anti-Slavery Society. These societies were the first organizations to become dedicated to promoting immediate emancipation. Immediate emancipation is freeing someone immediately from slavery. William Garrison was an extraordinary abolitionist who played an important part in the ending of