The Abolitionist Movement South Dakota State Standard 9-12.US.2.3 By Matt Baumgartner

1542 Spain abolished colonial slavery, but later reinstated it in th century Quakers and other religious groups found slavery to be un-Christian 18 th century enlightenment figures and intellectuals found it to violate the universal rights of man Pennsylvania passed An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in 1780 Britain banned the importation of African slaves in its colonies in 1807, and the United States followed in 1808

Court Challenges to Slavery Montgomery V. Sheddan in 1756, and Spens V. Dalrymple in 1769, set the precedent of a legal procedure within the British court system that would later lead to successful outcomes for various plaintiffs The Somersett case in 1772 successfully emancipated a slave in England Dred Scott V. Sandford case of 1857 was an unsuccessful attempt at emancipating a slave through the US court system. Scott, and his family, had lived with his master, Dr. John Emerson, in states and territories where slavery was illegal, and thus sued that they should be free on these grounds

Religious Rational for Abolition Quakers were one of the first groups to use a strictly religious and morality based rational for the opposition to slavery Second Great Awakening of the 1820s and 1830s in religion inspired groups that undertook many types of social reform, including abolishing slavery Many Irish Catholics also supported the abolishment of slavery on religious grounds

Slave Trade Act 1807 Passed in accordance with the constitution, which allowed congress to revisit the issue of slavery 20 years after the constitution’s ratification Signed into law by Thomas Jefferson Took effect on January 1 st, 1808 Banned the importation of new slaves into the United States Ended the legal trans-Atlantic slave trade Trading slaves within the US was still legal until the 13 th amendment was ratified

Back to Africa Movement Also known as the colonization movement Encouraged African Americans to return to Africa, which was their homeland, and reconnect with their native culture Beginning in 1821, with the founding of the nation of Liberia, private groups funded the immigration of former slaves back to the African continent Not really a long-term solution to the issues surrounding slavery and discrimination in the United States

American Anti-Slavery Society Active from Founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan Frederick Douglass was a key leader and spoke regularly at their meetings By 1838 they had over 250,000 members nationwide published a weekly newspaper, the National Anti-Slavery Standard

Ignatius Sancho Lived approximately 1729 – December 14, 1780 Born on a slave ship He is the first known Black Englishman to vote in a British election Known at the time as “the extraordinary Negro” To 18th century British abolitionists he became a symbol of the humanity of Africans and immorality of the slave trade The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, edited and published two years after his death, is one of the earliest accounts of African slavery written by a former slave in English

Thomas Paine Lived February 9, 1737 – June 8, 1809 Was known as "a corset maker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination.“ Paine is often credited with writing "African Slavery in America", the first article proposing the emancipation of African slaves and the abolition of slavery His fervent objections to slavery led to his exclusion from power during the early years of the Republic

John Jay Lived December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829 An American politician, statesman, diplomat, a Founding Father, and the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court Was the Governor of New York State from 1795 to 1801, and he became the state's leading opponent of slavery His first two attempts to emancipate the slaves in New York failed in 1777 and in 1785 The 1799 Act, a gradual emancipation law, that he signed, eventually brought about the emancipation of all slaves within the state

Ignatius Sancho Thomas Paine John Jay

William Wilberforce Lived August 24, 1759 – July 29, 1833 British Politician 1785, he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian 1787, he came into contact with a group of anti-slave trade activists, which inspired him deeply He introduced a law banning the slave trade in Britain every year from Continued to work towards the full abolishment of slavery until he retired from Parliament in 1826 due to failing health

William Wilberforce The Great Slavery Debate

John Brown Lived May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859 Brown has been called "the most controversial of all 19th-century Americans" and "America's first terrorist.“ He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas Attempted to start a slave insurrection and liberation movement in Harper’s Ferry Virginia (present day West Virginia) Was tried for murder and treason, found guilty, and hanged

Frederick Douglass Lived February 1818 – February 20, 1895 Escaped from slavery Became an outspoken leader within the abolitionist movement Stood as a living counter-example to slaveholders' arguments that slaves did not have the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens He wrote several autobiographies

John Brown & Frederick Douglas

Free and Slave States Over the Years Free and Slave States Over the Years

On March 4, 1861 eleven states seceded from the United States to form the Confederate States, effectively beginning the Civil War In 1862 pro-Union forces in the border states of Missouri, West Virginia, and Maryland begin emancipating slaves January 1, 1863 President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which, over the next 24 months, served as the basis for ending slavery in the United States The ratification of the 13 th amendment to the US constitution, in December of 1865, officially declared slavery illegal, and freed the approximately 50,000 remaining slaves within the US

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