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The Liberator
The Liberator was the first anti-slavery newspaper written by William Lloyd Garrison, an abolitionist leader. In this newspaper it drew attetion to the abolition of slavery, both the positives and negatives, and caused a war of words between the supporters of slavery and those who opposed it. The paper gained nationwide notoriety because of it's advocacy of emancipation. It also inspired several future abolitionist speakers, such as Frederick Douglass. -
Period: to
Antebellum Period
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Manifest Destiny
The term "Manifest Destiny" was named by John O'Sullivan. Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States should expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The citizens of America believed that Manifest Destiny meant that they had the God-given right to take the land. This idea also justified slavery, along with the war against Mexico beacuse it claimed that white Americans were chosen by God to spread their ideas and lifestyle. -
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was a former slave who became a very prominent african american figure in the abolitionist movement. He was self-taught and an excellent thinker and speaker. He also gave many anti-slavery speeches. He published an autobiograhpy called "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" which depicted slavery as being cruel & unfair. This swayed many people to see that slavery was wrong and change their opinions. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Women of all ages and few men went to this convention to discuss the rights and the conditions of women. They came up with the Declaration of Sentiments, which stated, among other things, that women were equal to men and deserved the right to be treated as such. -
The Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was formed from the remnants of the Liberty Party. It was an anti-slavery party that opposed the spread of slavery into the territories and supported homage, cheap postage, and internal improvements.This party tried to widen its appeal by focusing more on stopping the spread of slavery rather than outright abolition. However, the party never became very popular. The party's slogan was "free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men." -
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman was a abolitionist in the United States who was born as a slave in Maryland. Later in life, she decided to help other slaves out of captivity by a system known as the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a network of abolitionists that secretly helped slaves escape to freedom by setting up hiding places and routes to the North. Due to this, Harriet Tubman allowed for the freedom of many slaves and exemplified white slaveholder's fears. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was an anti-slavery novel and assisted in laying the groundwork for the Civil War. In it, she wrote in detail about the harsh conditions that enslaved African Americans had to face. The book rapidly rose to popularity in both the United States and Great Britain. It caused many anti-slavery forces in the northern part of America, but enraged the Southern part. -
The Know-Nothing Party
The Kknow-Nothing party, later known as the American Party, consisted of a group of people who opposed the increasing immigration levels and were very anti-Catholic. They attempted to create laws for more strict restrictions on immigration, naturallization, and the deportation of these immigrants. It was known as the know nothing party because the members refused to divulge their identities to the public and when they were asked a question about it, they would respond with "I know nothing." -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott was a black slave who lived with his master for several years in the northern portion of the Louisiana territory, that had been made free land by the Missouri Compromise. He then sued for his freedom on the basis that he had lived in a free territory for a long time and claimed that that made him a free man. The court decided that he couldn't sue in a federal court because he was a slave, and slaves were known as property, not citizens of America. -
Abraham Lincoln & The Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln was a skillful politician of the Republican party. He was not an abolitionist, but he did feel that slavery was morally wrong. He felt that there wasn't an alternative to slavery and that blacks were not prepared to live on equal terms as whites. In the 1860 election, Lincoln won due to the Democratic party being split over the concept of slavery. He then issued the Emancipation Proclamation and set the Civil War in motion, and was determind to preserve the Union however needed.
