Maria W Stewart White Abolitionist

Abolitionists helped slaves in their attempts to become free people. They helped to find homes for the slaves to hide in and were also active in many states (The Freedom Sympathizers and Fighters).

This is hypocritical in that the white men make these values and traditions a staple of their lives, yet when it comes to slaves, they seem to go away. He also believes that, though he will use “the severest language”(Douglass) he can, he firmly believes that “not one word shall escape me that any man whose… not blinded by prejudice, or… a slave-holder, shall not confess to be right and just”(Douglass). So he sincerely believes that the average human being also knows that the treatment of slaves is unjust and unethical, but they choose not to act on these thoughts. His view, coming from the eyes and thoughts of slaves across America, show how hypocritical the nation actually is in both one sided values and not acting upon their knowledge that what is going on is wrong.

During a time when an oppressive practice such as slavery was prevalent in American society, many people who claimed to be anti-slavery were actually interested in taking a gradual approach to abolishing this practice. However, William Lloyd Garrison wants to take immediate action to ending slavery when he expresses his honest opinion towards slave owners and moderates, as well as pointing out the hypocrisy of Americans. He expresses his hatred towards slave owners and supporters of slavery, through his repetition of the word “tremble”. Garrison wants all slave owners to feel disgusted by their actions and their contribution towards the suffering of slaves. He wishes that all slave owners will feel extreme regret towards for their horrible

The phrase “art imitates life” can be used to describe many works of literature. Authors and the stories they write are often influenced by the changing world around them along with the evolution of new perspectives and ways of thinking regarding a subject. While this may sound simply like a common literary trope, it is of great importance and significance in many genres of literature. None has this been more apparent than in both the anti-slavery and women’s empowerment movement of the early to mid-1800s. Two major influence authors in their respective subjects, Frederick Douglass and Fanny Fern, were heavily influenced by the changing societal trends of the time of which they expressed through their writing. Douglass’s speech in particular “What to a Slave is the 4th of July?” was heavily influenced by Douglass’s own personal experience as a slave as well as the rising prominence of the abolitionist movement in the United States. By referencing the contradictory nature of the Constitution relegating personal freedoms exclusively to white, property owning males, Douglass bluntly references the systematic inequalities faced by people of color in the United States. Never would the works of an African American author, especially one challenging the established institution of slavery, gain so much attention if not for the anti-slavery movement and shifting perspectives surrounding it.

To begin with, Frederick Douglass, a former slave wrote and spoke about the establishment of slavery and southern culture based on his youthful experiences as a slave. Douglass is a powerful speaker for the abolitionist movement and became a leader of the anti-slavery movement. One of the main reasons for his writing of the Narrative was to prove to critics that such a well-spoken and expressive man could not have once been a slave. Douglas eventually gains the resources and convictions to escape to the North and wage a political fight against the institution of slavery. I believed that his most inspirational saying was when Douglass said, “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”

The goal of the abolitionist movement was to achieve immediate emancipation for all slaves in the United States and to end the discrimination of African Americans in the United States (Foner, Give Me Liberty 445). Of the many leaders of the abolitionist movement, some of the prominent leaders were David Walker, William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass and John Brown. Different abolitionists used different methods to achieve their mutual goal of achieving emancipation of all slaves. During a time when slavery was thriving, their idea was regarded by many as completely absurd; but it was this absurd idea that freed the people of America.

When Black abolitionists began to examine the results of moral reform and moral persuasion in the late 1830s and early 1840s, they concluded that the battle for emancipation and quality need new strategies and tactics. Their 'situation was worsening', not improving and hard evidence in black life supportted that claim. The different level of such group to the intellectual, social, and economic force (Woodson,1925, Quaarles, 1969, and Dick 1974). But there was a growing number of white abolitionists will not adopt immediate belief, rejecting what Garrison now called the pernicious doctrine of gradual emancipation.

The Baltimore alliance consist of black abolitionist William Watkins, Jack Greener, and Hezekiah Grice. They were opponents of the ACS and work in Baltimore with Benjamin Lundy. He was a white abolitionist, who had an antislavery newspaper. In addition, these men had a strong influence on William Lloyd Garrison, who later became the “ most influential American antislavery leader”(169). Furthermore, these abolitionists believed that free people should have immediate freedom, equal civil rights, and that the American Colonization Society was harmful to blacks.

On January 1, 1831, the first issue of the Liberator containing an editorial from Garrison was published. The editorial was addressed to the public and ‘demanded the immediate, unconditional abolition of slavery’ and vowed to use extreme measures to effect a “revolution in public sentiment” (Masur 22-23). Garrison gave warning that he would not compromise or sugar coat his words: “I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. I am in earnest – I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – AND I WILL BE HEARD” (Masur 23). Garrison used the Liberator to voice his ever-increasing radical abolitionist ideas, urging free blacks to accept temperance, religion, and education as a means to further themselves.

The reading of these documents enabled me to utter my thoughts, and to meet the arguments brought forward to sustain slavery; but while they relieved me of one difficulty, they brought on another even more painful that the one of which I was relieved. The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery. (Douglass,

The abolitionist movement was an important time in American history. Abolitionists were people that opposed slavery which was an enormous problem in the South. African-Americans worked with white abolitionists to gain support and funds for the cause. Former slaves, white men, black women and all different types came together for the movement. Many abolitionists such as Sojourner Truth and Douglass were able to draw on their past experiences as slaves to tell about the horrible treatment of their peers.

Frederick Douglass was another abolitionist who also spoke out vigorously about slavery. He himself was an emancipated slave who fought for the abolishment of slavery. He fought to demonstrate that it was crude, unnatural, ungodly, immoral, and unjust. During a July 4th Celebration he made it known that he despised the treatment of the slaves. He explained that this hypocrisy was aimed at the black population and so in his speech on the Fourth of July celebration he proclaimed to the anti-slavery individuals that “This Fourth of July is yours not mine” and “You may rejoice, I must mourn”. Frederick Douglass quoted from the Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal; and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; and that, among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. He wondered if the rights that are stated in the Declaration of Independence, apply to everyone in America, because he believed they should. He asked the question what the Fourth of July was to an American slave, and responded, to the American slaves that one day, is full of hyprocrisy. He wondered how people could celebrate liberty and equality where there was slavery in America. In support of his idea of how sorrow slavery was Douglas used imagery. He stated, “I see clouds of dust raised on the highways of the South; I see the bleeding footsteps; I

Abolitionist Movement, reform movement during the 18th and 19th centuries. Often called the antislavery movement, it sought to end the enslavement of Africans and people of African descent in Europe, the Americans, and Africa itself. It also aimed to end the Atlantic slave trade carried out in the Atlantic Ocean between Africa, Europe, and the Americans. Black resistance was the most important factor. Since the 1500s Africans and persons of African descent had attempted to free themselves from slavery by force. Which let to revolts that are called Antislavery Organizations. The abolitionist movement includes things like colonization, antislavery newspaper, and there is some famous abolitionist.

One of William Lloyd Garrison’s speeches was spoken in 1854. Garrison was a man who was famous for favoring the abolition of slavery. He gave this address when he wanted to reach out to the people and sway them to end the cruel act of slaveholding. This was during the time when slavery was a huge part of the North and South since they claimed land on the Americas. Garrison did not specifically address anyone in the speech itself, but the general audience had to have been the people of the United States. His antislavery view was one felt strongly about and wanted to create a movement to abolish it. This source can be useful when teaching the history of slavery in the 1800’s. It shows the point of view of not the slave themselves, but movements that people against slavery were trying advocate.

Douglass offers a historical parallel to support his abolitionist ideology to demonstrate how the ignorance of the past does not have to pervade the present, thus encouraging Plato’s ideal Good within American society. Especially since the fourth of July celebrates America’s liberation from England’s tyrannical rule, a once radical and seemingly unattainable goal, African American’s search for liberty is emphasized. The colonists had good intentions and, “They loved their country better than their own private interests…though this is not the highest form of human excellence (Douglass 5), Douglass’s claim that their intentions were still misplaced shows how he wished for a better, more equal society. This society, would be characterized by a majority of abolitionists, essentially citizens who seek out justice and equality for all, rather than just the white majority currently in power. Douglass’s claims coincide with Plato’s view that “as for persuading and coercing fellow citizens to the point of self-improvement…this alone is the task of a truly good citizen.” (Plato 95) This quote serves as justification for a society comprised of Good citizens that strive to attain compromise and fairness. His want for an inclusive America, calls citizens to action, to truly uphold their constitution which claims it establishes equality. Douglass embodies the Good by attempting to inform his fellow citizens of what justice for all looks like. It’s important to lead virtuous lives, lead by example, and demonstrate the highest form of Good one can possibly attain, and Douglass exemplifies