Henry Highland Garnet And The Abolition Of Slavery

Early Efforts to End Slavery main idea- By the early 1800s, a large and growing amount of Americans demanded an immediate end to slavery.

The Revolutionary War was fought on principles of liberty, freedom, and justice for all - but when the dust had settled, and the Constitution finally agreed upon, the American people still owned slaves. The right to own other people was a cornerstone of American culture, and a major driver of its economy - it was unlikely to simple go away. Ironically, patriots would use a great deal of anti-slavery rhetoric to illustrate their struggle against the British, but in the aftermath of revolution, it became clear that “all men” did not include black men. Slavery, as it is properly understood, is a terrible institution that relies on oppression. Oftentimes, it used brutality and torture to keep productivity high. Such an oppressive system invites

Ophelia Settle Egypt, informally known as Ophie, was an African American woman ahead of her time. She attained the educational status of less than one percent of the American population, was liberal and accepting of others despite the criticism around her, fought to end racism, worked independently of her husband, and believed in limiting family growth. All of Egypt’s beliefs and lifetime achievements represent a new type of woman: a woman who refuses to assimilate to her gender stereotype of weak, inferior, and domestic. Egypt dedicated her life to social work through various activities. She worked as a sociologist, researcher, teacher, director of organizations, and social worker at different times in her life. Egypt’s book, The Unwritten History of Slavery (1968), and the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Southeast Washington D.C. named after her represent Egypt’s legacy and how one person is capable of social change.

Slaves in the colonies during the revolution were faced with no real options and little liberty. The slaves’ lot in life varied greatly between individual experiences. Those slave owners who had only a few slaves generally treated their slaves better than those with large numbers of slaves. Even if they were treated well, the slaves had little in the way of freedom. They would be required to work throughout the day at the bidding of their masters and had no recourse to whatever punishment was given at their master’s hands. The slaves also had little hope of ever obtaining freedom for themselves and their children (Pavao, n.d.).

The issue of slavery was left out of the Declaration of Independence for a reason, but why? We’ll also go over what the abolition of slavery is. We will find out whether abolition was present in the colonies during the American Revolution. And we will discuss how Lord Dunmore’s 1775 Proclamation influenced the Declaration of Independence. Those are the topics we will be covering today.

A man of the name James Oglethorpe that lived in Britain wanted to start a new life in the New World with a few other people due to a lack of jobs and poverty. James went to the king of Britain, King George II, so he could get permission to venture to America. James and King George II eventually made a deal that James would have to claim land for Britain in America. Later, Georgia was named after the

Slavery existed heavily in the South by the 1700’s. What started out with indentured servants, quickly but slowly, became slavery in a more brutal and disheartening way. European colonists turned to slavery because for every one indentured servant there were 17 slaves. (Chapter 2, page 46) This made it easier for European colonists to be able to replace slaves rather than waiting for indentured servants. Also, during Bacon’s Rebellion, Europeans quickly learned that servants were dangerous, because they had a right to fight back. Servants expected to be free within seven years in exchange for working the Europeans land. This also created the image that slaves would be easier to control simply because they had nothing to look forward to, once a slave always a slave. Once the Virginia slave law came out, it initially separated blacks and whites by skin color thus beginning the road to the new definition of “race.” In the south, slavery was in higher demand due to the increase of land to grow crops, indigo and tobacco. The more land you had, the more slaves you needed to pick and grow these crops which increased your money value.

The first slaves were brought to America in the early 1700s, before the country even had its independence. The slave population continued to grow until ultimately slavery was abolished after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, during the civil war. However, this fight towards abolishment of slavery did not come to be overnight. It took years of dispute and fighting for this conclusion to ultimately come to be. There were many different tactics abolitionists used as they strove to end slavery.

Abolitionism is the act or action of abolishing a system, practice, or institution. The movement that is referred to as the Abolitionist Movement, was a movement that was formed to eliminate slavery completely. The early movement, that took place between 1770 and 1830, focused on eliminating the African Slave Trade. The early abolitionist believed they would be able to eliminate slavery altogether if they could eliminate the slave trade.

Throughout the nineteenth century there was a movement that swept the upper south. This movement was the abolitionist movement which made an effort to emancipate all slaves and stop racial segregation along with discrimination. This movement led to many renowned historical figures contributing through speeches and writings with the goal of seeking an end to slavery. One of these individuals was Frederick Douglass who escaped slavery with the determination to encourage freedom for all slaves.

Lasting six years, the American Revolution resulted in a significant amount of lives being lost, not only to war but to disease and infection as well (Schultz, 2013). Division among the colonists was felt between those loyal to the cause and the rebels, as well as, the ones that were indifferent to either (Schultz, 2013). Disruptions of daily life resulted because soldiers were away from their homes and families for extended amounts of time and women managed the households, families, and civic life (Schultz, 2013). Additionally, slaves were unsure of their futures because there were no signs of them obtaining freedom (Schultz, 2013).

Slavery has been a key issue in American history since the first settlers settled here in 1607. Historians such as Vincent J Rosivach writes that when the issue of slavery is mentioned the first thing people think about is the slavery model of the deep south, the cotton kingdom. Rosivach writes that there were many different slave models such as the northern American colonies and 4th century Athens. Rosivach and many other historians agree that the way slavery was done in the north was totally different from the south. Slaves have had an important role particularly in the northern American colonies helping them early establish themselves first as a region then as a country. Historians have argued that America was built on the backs of

Frederick Douglass was a former slave who worked and powered to be free coming across many hurdles. Despite his rough beginnings, Douglass became a well written author who later wrote three autobiographies and a multitude of speeches that later aided in the abolition of slavery. He went on to become one of the most profound black American leaders of the 18th century, he helped shape and lead the way for the anti-slavery movement.

The Native Americans people of the pueblos had a saying, “Hold on to what is good, even if its’s a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe. Even if it’s a tree that stands by itself. Hold on to what you must do, even if it’s a long way from here. Hold on to your life, even if it’s easier to let go. Hold on to my hand, even if someday I’ll be gone away from you. Life was did not come easy for Henry and Lyman, but they worked. As a culture living on a reservation much of what their ancestor once owned was just a memory in today’s text book. Seemingly the generation of Lyman and Henry was more western culture like than the native style. They dressed as western cultures did in jeans and t-shirt and even buying a convertible. Even more so

In order to talk about the abolition of slavery it is necessary to know the meaning of slavery and abolition. According to Dictionary.com the word “Slave means: a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person and abolition means: “the legal prohibition and ending of slavery, especially of slavery of blacks in the U.S.” Now that both words were defined we can begin. “It is said that the first African slaves were brought to the United States near the English Colony back in 1619 to Jamestown, Virginia by some Dutch traders. If we were to discuss the origins of slavery we would have to start not in the United States, but we would have to shift gears to Brazil were they were the biggest slaves traders of all times” according to History.net