Objectives Describe efforts in the North to end slavery. Discuss the contributions of William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and other abolitionists. Describe the purpose and risks of the Underground Railroad. Explain why many people in the North and South defended slavery.

Terms and People abolitionists – reformers who wanted to abolish, or end, slavery William Lloyd Garrison – a Quaker who launched an abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, and cofounded the New England Anti-Slavery Society Frederick Douglass – a former slave who spoke out against slavery and published an antislavery newspaper, North Star Harriet Tubman – a former slave who helped many slaves escape via the Underground Railroad

How did abolitionists try to end slavery? Since colonial times, some Americans had opposed slavery on religious and moral grounds. Abolitionists tried to end slavery through the political system, the press, and non-governmental antislavery organizations.

A number of prominent leaders of the early republic, such as Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin, opposed slavery. In 1790, Pennsylvania became the first state to pass a law that gradually eliminated slavery. By 1804, every northern state had ended or pledged to end slavery, and Congress had banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.

The American Colonization Society, an early antislavery organization, wanted to free slaves gradually and transport them to Liberia, a colony founded in 1822 on the west coast of Africa.

The colonization movement did not work because most enslaved people had grown up in the U.S. and did not want to leave. By 1830, only about 1,400 African Americans had migrated to Liberia.

The Second Great Awakening inspired further opposition to slavery. By the mid-1800s, a small but growing number of people were abolitionists who called for an immediate end to slavery.

David Walker, a northern African American, published a pamphlet called Appeal: to the Coloured Citizens of the World. He urged enslaved people to rebel, if necessary, to gain their freedom.

William Lloyd Garrison opposed the use of violence to end slavery because he was a Quaker. Yet, he was more radical than most, because he thought all African Americans should have full political rights. In 1831, Garrison launched an abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, which folded only after slavery had ended.

Garrison cofounded the New England Anti-Slavery Society—which later became the American Anti-Slavery Society—whose members included: Minister Theodore Weld, a pupil of Charles Finney Sarah and Angelina Grimke, daughters of a South Carolina slaveholder

Former president John Quincy Adams, now a congressman, also supported the abolitionists. In 1839, he proposed a constitutional amendment that would ban slavery in any new state joining the Union, but the amendment was not passed. In 1841, Adams defended captive Africans who had seized the slave ship Amistad and helped them regain their freedom.

One of the most powerful speakers for abolitionism was Frederick Douglass. A former slave, Douglass escaped to the North and risked recapture by speaking at antislavery rallies. Douglass also published his own antislavery newspaper, the North Star.

Some abolitionists helped people escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a network of people who secretly helped slaves reach freedom.

Working for the Underground Railroad was illegal and dangerous, and people risked their lives to help runaway slaves. As many as 50,000 African Americans escaped from slavery to freedom in the North or in Canada via the Underground Railroad.

The fugitive slaves were led by “conductors.” They stopped at “stations,” which were often abolitionists’ houses, or churches or caves. Supporters donated clothing, food, and money.

Harriet Tubman was the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. She personally helped more than 300 slaves escape to freedom. Slave owners tried to stop her, offering a $40,000 reward for her capture, but she was never caught.

Northerners also feared that freed slaves would take their jobs. Abolitionists faced powerful obstacles in the North as well as in the South. Many northerners relied on cotton produced in the south by slave labor. Northerners also feared that freed slaves would take their jobs.

Defenders of slavery began to act with greater force. Northern supporters of slavery sometimes attacked people at antislavery meetings. The state of Georgia offered a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of William Lloyd Garrison for libel. Southerners in Congress won passage of a “gag rule” that blocked discussion of antislavery petitions.

Reading Skill: Identify Main Idea and Details Slavery ended in the North. • Pennsylvania: first state to ban slavery • Rest of North: banned slavery by 1804 • Northwest Territories: slavery banned by Congress Colonization was a failed idea. • Liberia: • Population: Abolitionist leaders worked against slavery in many ways. • Walker: • Garrison: • Adams: • Douglass: • Tubman: Defenders of slavery tried to block abolitionists. • In North: • In South: • In Congress:

Reading Skill: Identify Main Idea and Details Slavery ended in the North. • Pennsylvania: first state to ban slavery • Rest of North: banned slavery by 1804 • Northwest Territories: slavery banned by Congress Colonization was a failed idea. • Liberia: founded in 1822 for former enslaved African Americans • Population: slow growth Abolitionist leaders worked against slavery in many ways. • Walker: Enslaved people should revolt • Garrison: African Americans should have full political rights; published The Liberator • Adams: failed amendment to ban slavery in new territories; defended slaves of Amistad • Douglass: escaped from slavery; published North Star • Tubman: important conductor on Underground Railroad Defenders of slavery tried to block abolitionists. • In North: attacked abolitionist meetings • In South: reward for arrest and conviction of Garrison • In Congress: forced “gag rule” that blocked anti-slavery petitions