LHIS 2080 Black People Fight against Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
LHIS 2080 The American Origins Myth: The Revolution in American History & Culture Final Paper Handout Due Date: Before class on December 18th (topic due by November 20) Length: 1,800-2,000 words Formatting: Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1” margins all around, double-spaced INSTRUCTIONS: You have a number of options for the final paper. You may choose to: • focus on one of our week’s specific topics/events/eras o For example, you might choose to write your paper on the memory of the American Revolution during the Civil War or during the Cold War o Alternatively, you might select one of the topics from the latter, contemporary part of the course, e.g., the debate over whether the Revolution was conservative or radical or the debate over Thomas Jefferson and slavery o You might also decide to focus on a specific primary source from our readings or discussions. • synthesize part of the course or the course as a whole making an argument about how/why the memory of the Revolution changed over time o For example, you might write your paper about the memory of the Revolution in the nineteenth century or the twentieth century or today. • “Un-Essay” Option: I am leaving the option open for you to choose to do an “unessay.” This often involves doing some kind of creative project (i.e., some kind of work of art, a video, a podcast, a website, etc…). It can be almost anything with the only caveat that your unessay project must engage directly with the topic of the course and offer some kind of analysis, interpretation, and/or insight into the course material, much as you would in a regular essay. If you think you might be interested in trying the unessay option, please speak with me so we can discuss your ideas and how to best implement them. FINAL ESSAY STRUCTURE: All Final Papers should follow the standard essay outline I presented to you when talking about how to write your Short Paper. In fact, you can very much think of the Final Paper as an extended form of the Short Paper in that you are expected to make an argument and provide the background necessary to contextualize and support your argument. The structure of your Final Paper should follow the general outline below: I. Introduction A. State your argument clearly in your first paragraph II. Background/Context A. What period(s) are you covering? What about the politics and culture of that period is necessary for the reader to understand and appreciate your argument? III. Body A. Choose 2-3 documents to make/support your argument and dedicate a paragraph to each. Each paragraph should introduce the source (who wrote it? When? Why?), say why it is significant, and how it relates to your argument about the memory of the Revolution IV. Conclusion A. Summarize and re-state your argument TOPICS DUE BY NOVEMBER 20: All students must submit their choice of topic to me, preferably through a message in Canvas, by November 20 (though sooner is better). Before then, you should have at least one viable topic in mind (if not an alternative topic as well). I am then happy to talk with you in person or via email to help you flesh out your topic and argument. I cannot read drafts of papers but I am happy to look at the outline for your paper before you begin to write it to help you focus your argument and choose sources and background information.
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Black People Fight against Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
Introduction
The abolitionists included black people, Quakers, preachers and former slave owners who campaigned to have the Transatlantic Slave Trade to come to an end. For an extended period of time, many people were not aware of the evils and dangers of slave trade. According to Foner and Garraty, most individuals who campaigned for the abolition of slavery were exposed to abuse which was often violent. However, these antislavery individuals eventually managed to develop a fellowship to abolish slave trade. The abolitionists were made up of African Americans who worked together with other white people such as Quobna Ottobah, Olaudah Equiano, and Ignatius Sancho (Foner & Garraty). These individuals formed a group which as initially referred to as ‘The Sons of Africa’ and they started to campaign against slavery. The work of this group was to fight against slave trade and it also managed to dispel the misconceptions that were held by white people concerning Africa Americans. Freed slaves as well as enslaved people campaigned for the abolition of slavery. In both the U.S. and UK, the abolition movement was faced with setbacks but it eventually managed to gain strength. The movement was composed of a wide range of people and all of them had a distinct issue concerning their cause. This paper critically analyzes how black people fought against slavery and the abolition of slavery.
Background
The aim of the abolitionist movement was to emancipate all slaves and the immediate end of segregation and racial discrimination. The abolitionist movement gained momentum in the early 1800s when people started to advocate for emancipation of both moderate slavery advocates and renowned abolitionists. These individuals campaigned for gradual emancipation arguing that slavery should be restricted to certain areas in order to prevent it from spreading towards the west (Blakemore). Religious fervor of the 2nd Great Awakening also managed to partly fuel radical abolitionism and it promoted numerous individuals to advocate for emancipation on the basis of religious grounds. Furthermore, abolitionism ideologies increasingly became popular in the Northern churches as well as the beginning of politics in 1830s and this led to regional animosity between the South and North thus contributing to the Civil War in the U.S.
The abolitionists from 1830s to 1870 tried to attain immediate emancipation of all trade and thus end discrimination and racial segregation. The main objective of the abolitionist was broad based political opposition against the expansion of the slavery towards the west. Studies have shown that expansion gained strength after 1840 and this contributed to Civil War (Foner & Garraty). There were two expressions of hostility to Free –Soilism and abolition of slavery and they were clearly related in terms of their interactions and beliefs. The southern slave owners came to consider the individuals in the North as being united against them including the emancipation of the African Americans.
Studies have already revealed that female abolitionists such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton ended up becoming famous individuals particularly in the women’s rights movement. Although the feelings of abolitionists were strong during the American Revolution across the Upper South during the 1820s, the movement of the abolitionist failed to unite until it reached the 1830s. During the previous decade, a huge proportion of the North went through social disruption particularly with the spread of commerce and manufacturing. This occurred when powerful religious and evangelical movements started to impart spiritual and religious directions to people. Most individuals stressed the significance and moral imperative of ending sinful acts and the responsibility of each individual to uphold the will of God in the society (Presley). For instance, preachers such as Nathaniel Taylor Lyman Beecher, and Charles G. Finney started to practice what came to be known as the Second Great Awakening that initiated numerous religious revivals in the 1820s. The movement led to a huge impetus to what later emerged as abolitionism and other reforming crusades of pacifism, temperance, and rights of women. By the time it was reaching the early 1830s, William Lloyd garrison, Theodore D. Weld, Lewis, and Arthur Tappan, and Elizur Wright, Jr. started to nourish spiritually revivalism. This led to the emergence of a movement towards “immediate emancipation.”
Garrison who was located in Boston during the early 1831 started to publish his prominent newspaper known as The Liberator and it mainly supported the free African Americans ideology. This played a prominent role when it came to supporting the movement. By December 1833, Garrison, Pappans, and sixty additional delegates of both genders and races converged in Philadelphia to establish the American Anti-Slavery Society which campaigned against slavery. Slavery was denounced as a sinful act that was supposed to be immediately abolished. They endorsed nonviolence and also campaigned against prejudice(Presley). By the time it reached 1835, the public was exposed to substantial financial and moral support from numerous communities of African Americans in the North. The movement also developed hundreds of branches across the Free states, filling the north antislavery literature, petitions and agents asking the Congress to eradicate all types of financial assistance for slavery. The movement managed to attract huge participation by women who denounced the American Colonization Society’s program that aimed at gradual voluntary emancipation of African American emigration.
Numerous activities managed to provoke increased hostile responses across the North and ...