Abolitionism Assessment Abolitionism was unpopular even in the north at first; during the time of the Constitution of Convention of 1789, there were hardly any abolitionists and northerners preferred to think of slaves as property to keep the South from gaining power through the vote. Abolitionists were outcasts because they threatened stability. Northerners “had been brought up to revere the Constitution and to regard the clauses on slavery as a lasting bargain” (359). There was also a fear of succession with the economic interest many northerners had in the south in the form of unpaid loans. Despite initial unpopularity, later circumstances caused abolitionism to grow in strength. One of the first of these circumstances was religious revival.