Civilisation US 3 : Abolitionism and the sectional crisis

What new idea defined abolitionism in the 1830s?

Slavery was considered a sin and a violation of the values of the Declaration of Independence.

What did abolitionists demand regarding emancipation?

Immediate, not gradual, abolition.

What did abolitionists say about civil and economic rights?

Black Americans should have equal civil and economic rights.

What was The Liberator and when was it published?

An abolitionist newspaper by William Lloyd Garrison, published in 1831.

What was the American Colonization Society (1817)?

A group that promoted sending freed Black people to Africa, opposed by Garrison.

What factor helped spread abolitionism?

Innovations in printing and distribution.

What happened in 1833?

Creation of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), a national abolitionist organization.

How did abolitionists spread their message?

Fundraisers, charity fairs, picnics, bazaars (“Buy for the sake of the slaves”).

What method did most abolitionists support?

Moral suasion, not violence.

Who were key Black abolitionist leaders?

Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Jacobs, among others.

What was Frederick Douglass’s role?

Former slave, major speaker and writer; published his famous Narrative.

Who was Sojourner Truth?

A formerly enslaved woman, abolitionist and women’s-rights activist, published her narrative.

What impact did Uncle Tom’s Cabin have?

It sold millions of copies and gave readers insight into Southern slavery.

What rhetorical strategy did abolitionists use?

Portraying enslaved people as sympathetic, moral, and Christian human beings.

Did racism exist among abolitionists?

Yes, many supported abolition but still held racist beliefs.

What shift occurred among some Black abolitionists in the 1840s?

argue that enslaved people should rise up in rebellion, use violence if necessary, and free themselves, rather than relying only on moral persuasion

Who was Henry Garnet?

A Black abolitionist who called for slave rebellion in 1843; ignored as “too radical”.

How did many Northerners react to abolitionism?

With hostility, feared disunion, economic change, and loss of white supremacy.

What legal status did enslaved people have?

Legal property with almost no rights.

What were enslaved people forbidden to do?

Testify against whites, sign contracts, hold firearms, travel without permission, hold meetings.

What became illegal by the 1830s regarding enslaved people?

Teaching them to read or write.

Why were laws protecting enslaved people’s “well-being” created?

To increase their productivity and strengthen slavery.

How did the pro-slavery rhetoric change?

Slavery became a “positive good” rather than a “necessary evil”.

What biblical justification was used?

Claims that slavery was authorized by the Bible (part of ancient society).

What social justification was common?

Slavery guaranteed equality among whites by freeing them from manual labor.

Why did Southerners reject abolitionist criticism?

They claimed outsiders were attacking their liberties and institutions.

What issue intensified conflicts in the early 1800s?

Whether new states should be free or slave states.

What did the Missouri Compromise (1820) do?

Admitted Missouri as slave and Maine as free, drew a line dividing future free/slave territories.

What was the Wilmot Proviso (1846)?

Proposal to ban slavery in all new territories from Mexico (unsuccessful).

What was the Free Soil Party (1848)?

A party opposing slavery’s expansion into the West : believed it harmed small farmers.

What did the Compromise of 1850 decide?

California entered as a free state,other territories would use popular sovereignty, included the Fugitive Slave Act.

What effect did the Fugitive Slave Act have?

Increased Northern anger and expanded the Underground Railroad.

What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)?

Territories voted on slavery (popular sovereignty), ending the Missouri Compromise = caused violence.

What party was created in response to this act?

The Republican Party (1854).

What did Republicans believe?

Stop the spread of slavery, not immediate abolition.

What did the Dred Scott decision (1857) declare?

Black people could not be citizens, slaves were slaves everywhere; free states were meaningless.

What was Lincoln’s position on slavery?

Opposed its expansion; wanted to preserve the Union; accepted limited Black rights but opposed suffrage.

What triggered Southern secession?

Lincoln’s election in 1860, he won with no Southern votes.

What did seceding states claim as justification?

The legacy of the American Revolution and the defense of their way of life.