In the 19th century, the population of the USA was affected by the revivalist doctrines. They emphasized the value of salvation and encouraged people to reveal disinterested benevolence. Under such influence, evangelical reformers formed their perception of slavery. At that time, it became treated as a God-defying sin that destroyed American morality. Hence, it is not surprising that citizens started speaking about abolition. Nevertheless, numerous restrictions were faced by antislavery advocacy. Both gradual emancipation and conditional emancipation were not allowed, but free blacks from the North and evangelicals revealed their opposition in the form of the movement that required the development of social reform. By the 1830s, “Baptists such as William Lloyd Garrison, Congregational revivalists like Arthur and Lewis Tappan and Theodore Dwight Weld, and radical Quakers including Lucretia Mott and John Greenleaf Whittier” managed to push the idea of emancipation to reform agendas (“Antislavery and Abolitionism”). Believing in moral suasion, abolitionists considered that it was enough to emphasize the Christian conscience of whites to make them let their slaves become free.
Garrison’s ideas of radical Christian reformers made him fight with slavery and advocate for gradual abolition. Walker and Forten affected Garrison so that he recognized blacks’ right to benefit from American liberty. Together, they focused on the necessity to reach immediate emancipation and black citizenship. In the 1830s, reformers considered that the Declaration of our Independence could provide an opportunity to develop the American Antislavery Society.
Being affected by Christian views, they wanted to save slaves with the help of social reforms. Abolitionists cooperated with black activists and encouraged people of color to gather and stand for their rights (“American Abolitionists and Antislavery Activists: Conscience of the Nation.”). They established antislavery societies, providing them with educational establishments and churches. At the same time, numerous petitions were developed to make Congress support these initiatives.
The emphasis made on the necessity of abolition entailed the creation of fierce opposition. Many Americans considered that the views of abolitionists were wrong and resisted anti-slavery ideas (“Development and the Abolitionist Movement in History”). Given this, abolitionists turned out to be represented by a small group of marginalized activists. The existence of diverse positions within one country led to the fear of disunion and emphasized that abolitionist petitions should not have been accepted.
Under the influence of external opposition, abolitionists started to split. In 1839, the ideological views of Americans were questioned. Garrison shared his ideas of treating the Constitution as a pro-slavery text and revealed that the US population had to redeem the nation, implementing an antislavery basis. However, moral suasion did not appeal to many abolitionists at that time because they questioned its realism. These individuals considered that the existing political processes could be used to reach the same goals. As a result, abolition and anti-slavery movements were divided by 1840. The Liberty Party was developed, and its representatives considered that the Constitution was antislavery.
These two parties could not find a common language considering women’s rights as well. Many abolitionists decided to remain a part of the American Anti-slavery Association. Their actions were justified by the fact that this association provided female employees with an opportunity to obtain leadership positions (“Women and Abolitionism”). It was also treated as the ability to fulfill the doctrine of perfectionism, as equality between people of different genders could be achieved.
In the 1840s, abolitionists’ reforms were not already based on resistance. They continued emphasizing moral suasions, but the violent opposition of slaveholders made them consider the possibility to use other sources of influence. Their initiatives also altered. For instance, much attention was paid to the protection of runaway slaves. Support networks were created to assist blacks and ensure their safety. These initiatives were developed by Douglass who provided moral and financial support for anti-slavery societies. To combat these activities, Fugitive Slave Act was created. According to it, runaway slaves and people who assisted them had to be arrested. If it was not so, officials were punished for their failure. As a result, bloody skirmishes occurred (Oakes). Those movements that were developed to protect the populations led to violence and sectional cataclysm. Twenty years after these events, revivalist perfectionism turns out to become useless. Those individuals who wanted to abolish slavery and make blacks and whites equal started focusing on the ability to secure the moral soul of the country in the battle.
Even though abolitionism dealt with numerous issues when it was implemented, this movement cannot be considered ineffectual. Its organizations provide the country with a model of coexistence of black and whites. Of course, they cannot be treated as ideal ones; nevertheless, their positive influences on future changes cannot be denied. The number of individuals who supported the antislavery Republican Party was always smaller than the number of their opponents, but this fact only made them develop more critical interventions that could benefit African Americans. It can be stated that anti-slavery grounds developed in the first part of the 19th century provided Lincoln with an opportunity to reach his goals while being a president. Even though the abolition of slavery is mainly related to the civil war, it is significant to consider the influence of moral compass and motivation developed by abolition and anti-slavery movements.
Works Cited
“American Abolitionists and Antislavery Activists: Conscience of the Nation.”American Abolitionists. 2018, Web.
“Antislavery and Abolitionism.”ER Services, Web.
“Development and the Abolitionist Movement in History.”Antislavery. 2016, Web.
“Women and Abolitionism.”Abolition Seminar, 2014, Web.
Oakes, James. “The Real Problem with White Abolitionists.”Jacobin. 2014, Web.