Slavery & Abolition

Ch 8 Sect 2

Pg 248

Abolition• Abolition – the call to outlaw slavery• 1820s - 100 antislavery societies were

advocating for resettlement of blacks in Africa – based on the belief that Africans were an

inferior race – Most free blacks considered America their

home

• Abolition was fueled by preachers like Charles Finney

• “a great national sin”.

Abolitionists

• William Lloyd Garrison – the most radical white abolitionist. – The Liberator – Immediate emancipation – Founded New England Anti-Slavery Society

& American Anti-Slavery Society – Core black support – Alienated whites

*** How did Garrison alienate whites?

***Nationalist or Sectionalist?

David Walker

• Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World

• Advised blacks to fight for freedom.

• Blacks, more willing to compromise joined antislavery societies.

Frederick Douglass

• Born into slavery • Douglass had been taught to read and write by

the wife of one of the slave owners.• Garrison sponsored Douglass as a lecturer for

the American Anti-Slavery Society.• Hoped that abolition could be achieved through

political actions.• Began his own anti-slavery newspaper, named

The North Star.

*** Nationalist or Sectionalist?

Life under Slavery

• Rural Slavery– Large plantations– Men, women, & children worked from dawn to

dusk in the fields.– Most slaves worked along side their masters.

• Urban Slavery– Slaves w/ special skills worked in industry.– Better fed & clothed

*** How did the differences in rural and urban slavery contribute to sectionalism?

African Americans in the South, 1860

1. According to the pie graph, what was the smallest group of African Americans living in the American South in 1860?

2. Under what conditions did 61% of slaves in the South live in? Explain.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

• Nat Turner was born into slavery in 1800.• A gifted preacher, he believed that he had been

chosen to lead his people to freedom.• In 1831, he misjudged an eclipse for a divine

single from God.• He led 80 slaves in a rebellion against 4 plantation

owners before being caught & killed.• In retaliation, whites killed 200+ blacks.• The rebellion caused Southerners to defend

slavery even more.

Slave owners defend Slavery• Used the Bible “obey your masters”• Benefited slaves b/c members of civilized

society.• Myth of the “happy” slave• By 1830s, southern white ministers were

speaking against slavery.• 1836, Southern delegates adopted a gag rule –

prevented the discussion of slavery in Congress– Repealed in 1844

*** Abolitionists are leading to…

*** Sectionalism is occurring between…

*** How is Nationalism leading to the Civil War?

Answer the following questions

1. What is abolition?

2. Who were David Walker and Frederick Douglass, and what did they advocate?

3. What were the similarities & differences between rural & urban slavery?

4. What were the causes and consequences of Nat Turn’s rebellion?

5. What was the result of the debate over slavery in Virginia in 1832?

6. How did the South respond to Nat Turner’s rebellion?

7. What arguments did many southerners use to defend slavery?