Abolition
The American Anti-Slavery Society was established in 1833, but abolitionist
sentiment antedated the republic. For example, the charter of Georgia
prohibited slavery, and many of its settlers fought a losing battle
against allowing it in the colony, Before independence, Quakers, most
black Christians, and other religious groups argued that slavery was
incompatible with Christ's teaching. Moreover, a number of revolutionaries
saw the glaring contradiction between demanding freedom for themselves
while holding slaves. Although the economic center of slavery was in
the South, northerners also held slaves, as did African Americans and
Native Americans. Moreover, some southerners opposed slavery. Blacks
were in the vanguard of the anti-slavery movement. Abolitionist literature
began to appear about 1820. Until the Civil War, the anti-slavery press
produced a steadily growing stream of newspapers, periodicals, sermons,
children's publications, speeches, abolitionist society reports, broadsides,
and memoirs of former slaves.
The Library of Congress has a wealth of material that demonstrates
the extent of public support for and opposition to abolition. Broadsides
advertise fairs and bazaars that women's groups held to raise money
for the cause. Other publications advertise abolitionist rallies, some
of which are pictured in prints from contemporaneous periodicals. To
build enthusiasm at their meetings, anti-slavery organizations used
songs, some of which survive. The Library also has many political and
satirical prints from the 1830s through the 1850s that demonstrate
the rising sectional controversy during that time.
Although excellent studies of the abolition movement exist, further
research in the Library's manuscripts could document the lesser known
individuals who formed the movement's core. Other promising topics
include the roles of women and black abolitionists and the activities
of state and local abolitionist societies.
Abolition as a Social Movement
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Jonathan Edwards, Jr., (1745-1801), was, like his
more famous father, a Congregationalist minister. He served at
the White Haven Church in New Haven, Connecticut, and later became
president of Union College in Schenectady, New York. In this sermon,
Edwards presented forceful arguments against ten common pro-slavery
positions. One of the earliest anti-slavery publications in the
Library of Congress collections, the sermon demonstrates the existence
of strong anti-slavery feeling in the early days of the republic.
Injustices and Impolicy of the Slave Trade and of the
Slavery of Africans . . . , Title page Jonathan Edwards
[Jr.], Author New Haven: Thomas & Samuel Green, 1791 Rare
Book and Special Collections Division (35)
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On January 1, 1794, delegates from the abolition
societies of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
and Maryland met in Philadelphia, a stronghold of the anti-slavery
Quaker religion. The group voted to petition Congress to prohibit
the slave trade and also to appeal to the legislatures of the various
states to abolish slavery. The petitions pointed out the inconsistency
of a country that had recently rejected the tyranny of kings engaging
in "domestic despotism." Delegates published an address urging
on U.S. citizens "the obligations of justice, humanity, and benevolence
toward our Africa brethren, whether in bondage or free." The group
planned to meet each January until slavery was abolished.
Minutes of Proceedings of a Convention of Delegates from
the Abolition Societies..., Title page Philadelphia:
Zachariah Poulson, 1794 Rare
Book and Special Collections Division (36)
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The American Anti-Slavery Society produced The
Slave's Friend, a monthly pamphlet of abolitionist poems,
songs, and stories for children. In its pages, young readers
were encouraged to collect money for the anti-slavery cause.
Here a picture of the coffle- yoke used to chain groups of slaves
together illustrates a dialogue about the horrors of slavery
between a girl named Ellen and her father, Mr. Murray. A shocked
Ellen concludes that "I will never boast of our liberty while
there is a slave in this land."
The Slave's Friend, Volume II, p. 3 New York:
American Anti-Slavery Society, 1836 Rare
Book and Special Collections Division (37)
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Anti-colonization sentiment was common in abolitionist
publications such as The Anti-Slavery Picknick, a collection
of speeches, poems, dialogues, and songs intended for use in schools
and anti-slavery meetings. A song called the "Colored Man's Opinion
of Colonization" denounces plans to transport free blacks out of
the United States. Many African-Americans opposed colonization,
and, in 1831, a convention of free blacks meeting in New York asserted, "This
is our home, and this is our country. Beneath its sod lie the bones
of our fathers; for it some of them fought, bled, and died. Here
we were born, and here we will die."
The Anti-Slavery Picknick, pp. 106-107 Boston:
H.W. Williams, 1842 Rare
Book and Special Collections Division (38)
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Although women were heavily involved in abolitionist
activities, opinion was divided as to their proper role. Some people
believed that women should serve in auxiliary roles that did not
expose them to competition with men. However, many women played
a highly visible role as writers and speakers for the cause. Some
of them gained activist experience that they later used in support
of women's rights. In this circular, the women of the Massachusetts
Anti-Slavery Society advertise a fundraising event to support an
agent. Well-known abolitionists such as Maria W. Chapman, a spirited
speaker, song writer, and editor of many volumes of The Liberty
Bell songbook, and Helen E. Garrison, wife of William Lloyd Garrison,
were involved in the event.
"Anti-Slavery Fair" Boston: Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society
Broadside Rare Book
and Special Collections Division (39)
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This broadside condemns the sale and keeping of slaves
in the District of Columbia. The work was issued during the 1835-1836
campaign to have Congress abolish slavery in the Capital. At the
top are contrasting scenes: a view of a reading of the Declaration
of Independence, captioned "The Land of the Free," with a scene
of slaves being led past the Capitol, captioned "The Home of the
Oppressed." Also shown is the infamous Franklin & Armfield Slave
Prison, still standing on Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia.
Opened in 1828, this center soon gained control of nearly half
the sea trade in slaves between Virginia and Maryland and New Orleans.
Most area slaves "sold South" were held there before being shipped
to a dreaded future on a rice, cotton or indigo plantation.
"Slave Market of America" New York: American Anti-Slavery Society,
1836 Broadside Rare
Book and Special Collections Division (40)
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This handbill urging opponents of abolitionists to
obstruct an anti-slavery meeting demonstrates the depth of pro-slavery
feeling. Although the handbill advocates peaceful means, violence
sometimes erupted between the two factions. An emotion-laden handbill
was a factor in the well-known Boston riot of October 21, 1835.
In that incident, a mob broke into the hall where the Boston Female
Anti-Slavery Society was meeting, and threatened William Lloyd
Garrison's life.
"Outrage," February 2, 1837 Handbill Rare
Book and Special Collections Division (41)
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Each year the American Anti-Slavery Society distributed
an almanac containing poems, drawings, essays, and other abolitionist
material. This issue was compiled by Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880),
a popular writer recruited to the abolitionist cause by William
Lloyd Garrison. In 1833, Mrs. Child produced An Appeal in Favor
of that Class of Americans Called Africans, a sensational anti-slavery
publication that won converts to the movement. From 1841 to 1849,
she edited the New York-based National Anti-Slavery Standard newspaper.
L[ydia] M[aria] Child, comp. The Anti-Slavery Almanac
for 1843, cover New York:American Anti-Slavery Society,
1843 Rare Book and
Special Collections Division (42)
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Joseph Cinquez (or Cinque) was one of a group of
Africans from Sierra Leone who had been kidnapped and sold into
slavery. In July 1839, Cinquez led a revolt on the slave ship Amistad,
off Cuba. The slaves took control of the ship and killed the crew,
but were soon captured and charged with piracy. Their subsequent
trials in New Haven, Connecticut, were causes celebres, pitting
abolitionists against President Martin Van Buren's administration.
In March 1841, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision
to return Cinquez and his surviving friends to Africa. John Quincy
Adams had represented the Africans before the Supreme Court, and
they were set free largely as a result of his eloquent pleading.
"Joseph Cinquez, the brave Congolese Chief, who prefers death
to Slavery, and who now lies in jail..." James or Isaac Sheffield,
Illustrator New York: Moses Beach, 1839 Lithograph Prints
and Photographs Division (43)
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The illustration on this sheet-music cover is an
allegory of the triumph of abolitionism. A railroad car called "Immediate
Emancipation," is pulled by a locomotive named "Liberator." These
two names refer to William Lloyd Garrison, whose demand for immediate
emancipation was expressed in his newspaper The Liberator. "Repealer," the
second locomotive, probably refers to the Irish insurgent movement,
a cause with which many U.S. abolitionists were allied. Flags bearing
the names of two other abolitionist publications, the Herald of
Freedom and American Standard (or National Anti-Slavery Standard)
fly from the "Emancipation" car. In the distance, two other trains,
one marked "Van," the other "Clay," crash, and their passengers
flee. These trains allude to Democrat and Whig presidential hopefuls
Martin Van Buren and Henry Clay.
"Get Off The Track: A Song for Emancipation...," cover Jesse
Hutchinson, Author Boston, 1844 Sheet music Prints
and Photographs Division (44)
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Like many other reformers, abolitionists felt that
good crusades required singing. Hence, many abolitionists expressed
themselves in verse and songs. The cover of this sheet-music shows
a fictionalized and inaccurate version of the escape from slavery
of Frederick Douglass (1817-1895), who actually fled by ship. The
song is dedicated to Douglass "for his fearless advocacy, signal
ability, and wonderful success in behalf of His Brothers in Bonds."
"The Fugitive's Song...,"cover Boston: Henry Prentiss, 1845
Sheet-music Prints and
Photographs Division (45)
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Abolitionist materials aimed at women often appealed
to their sympathetic feeling as wives and mothers for the plight
of slave women who might be separated from their husbands or children.
"The Negro Woman's Appeal to Her White Sisters" Richard Barrett,
ca. 1850s Broadside Rare
Book and Special Collections Division (46) |
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