Abolitionists

Frederick Douglass 1818 (Maryland) to 1895 An escaped slave, a famous orator, journalist and antislavery leader, who was self-educated. His mother was Harriet Bailey and his father was an unknown white man At 17, a slave breaker named Covey had beaten him on a daily basis. After 6 months, Frederick resisted Covey. After that Covey never attempted to beat him again. Before this event, Frederick believed that he was nothing and after it, he wrote that he was a man now. He described this as the turning point of his life as a slave. He was sent to Baltimore to work as an apprentice in a ship yard. In 1838, he obtained papers from a free black seaman and, dressed as a sailor, took a train to New York.

Frederick Douglass He married Anna Murray and had 5 children He changed his surname, Johnson to Douglass, the name of a character in the poem “The Lady of the Lake” His autobiographies were: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881/1882) His newspapers were: The North Star (1847-1863) Frederick Douglass’ Weekly Douglass’ Monthly

Frederick Douglass His house in Rochester was a station on the UGR He was a friend of John Brown, but refused to join the rebellion 1884, he married his white secretary, Helen Pitts, which outraged many blacks and whites. For him, the marriage symbolized one more victory in his lifelong crusade against racial discrimination. Douglass also encouraged Lincoln to have an all black regiment in the American Civil War, which was the 54th Massachusetts Regiment

Thomas Clarkson 1760-1846 Leading figure in the Abolition Society of Britain in 1787. Spoke out against the slave trade and persuaded people not to buy slave-grown sugar.

William Lloyd Garrison 1805-1879 From Massachusetts He used his newspaper, The Liberator, to fight slavery Helped organize the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, of which he was president. Later he campaigned on behalf on the Native Americans and also for votes for women.

Elijah Lovejoy 1802-1837 Born in Maine; Died in Alton, Illinois A white abolitionist journalist and Presbyterian minister He published a religious newspaper, The St. Louis Observer, and began to advocate the abolition of slavery. After seeing a slave burned at the stake, his editorials became so strident against slavery that he became an object of hatred by both Southerners and slave-holders. His printing presses were frequently destroyed.

Elijah Lovejoy On Nov. 7th, 1837, Lovejoy and 20 supporters gathered at Godfrey & Gilman warehouse to guard a new press. They were confronted by an angry mob and while trying to stop a fire, Lovejoy was shot. The mob action at Godfrey & Gilman warehouse was the first, but unrecorded battle of the American Civil War.

Sojourner Truth Born about 1797 in New York and died in 1883. She transformed herself from a domestic servant named Isabella Van Wagenen into a runaway slave, who became a favourite speaker at abolitionist rallies In 1843, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth (Sojourner = a temporary resident) She was a deeply religious woman who spent more than 40 years preaching and arguing against slavery. She gave her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech at the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.

Harriet Beecher Stowe 1811 (Connecticut) – 1896 a white, American writer She is most famous as the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel that made Northerners angry over slavery. Published in 1852 It condemned slavery and was an important factor precipitating the American Civil War

Charles Sumner 1811-1874 From Massachusetts A white US senator, who became the Senate’s leading opponent of slavery. After one speech Sumner made against pro-slavery groups in Kansas in 1856, he was beaten unconscious by Preston Brooks, a congressman from South Carolina

Harriet Tubman (Araminta Ross) She was born in Dorchester County, Maryland. Her birth was not recorded, but it was app. 1820 Both of her parents were from Africa and were taken into slavery At age 12 she would not help her master tie up a fellow slave, who was being punished. Her master struck her in the head with a weight/rock, which caused her to have blackouts throughout her life. At the 25 she married John Tubman, who was a free black

Harriet Tubman (Araminta Ross) She escaped slavery by using the Underground Railroad (UGR) Stationmaster William Still, from Philadelphia taught everything she knew about the UGR She became the most famous conductor of the UGR. She rescued app. 300 slaves and did not lose anyone. She threatened death to anyone who tried to go back, as she carried 2 pistols There was a $40,000 reward for her capture

Harriet Tubman (Araminta Ross) Her nickname was Moses, as she led her people to freedom She was friends with Frederick Douglass & John Brown During the American Civil War, she served as a nurse and spy for the Union. After the American Civil War, she went to Auburn, New York, where she died in 1913