While many cultural movements influenced the people of the nation, such as the rise of women’s rights, enlightenment and industrialization, abolition had one of the largest cultural and societal influences on the populous of America.
In 1829, a freed slave named David Walker published An Appeal to Colored Citizens of the World, in which he tried to encourage slaves to rise up against their masters, causing conflicts among the fellow abolitionists, as it was too drastic and extreme for them to take seriously. Another writer, Frederick Douglass, was an escaped slave who wrote an autobiography titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave in 1845, soon after his escape. Upon its publication, he discerned the chances …show more content…
Among these abolitionists, there was a slave by the name of Harriet Tubman. Tubman escaped from slavery in 1849 and fled to Pennsylvania. Since her family ties were severed, Tubman decided to rescue her family and others still living in slavery. Tubman managed to rescue over 60 people through use of the Underground Railroad, a network she used to travel from Maryland to Philadelphia. In 1850, runaway slaves encountered an extreme conflict after escaping when the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. The Fugitive Slave Act stated that escaped slaves could be abducted and returned to their previous owners, including former slaves living in free states. Following the passage of this act, Tubman redirected the Underground Railroad to escort the slaves to Canada, which prohibited slavery. After rescuing numerous slaves, Tubman was the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the Civil War which lead to the liberation of more than 700 slaves in South Carolina. Another important woman during this time was a woman by the …show more content…
This act, the Slave Trade Act, did not become effective until 1808. However, slave trade in the Southern portion of the United States was not prohibited. In addition, in 1842, Supreme Court decision Prigg v. Pennsylvania ruled that “states need not aid in enforcing the 1793 law requiring the return of fugitive slaves to their owners”. In 1846, Dred Scott v Sandford, a slave attempted to sue for his freedom. This slave, Dred Scott, stated that his residence in a free state made him a free man. He won the suit in a lower court, however, he lost in the Missouri Supreme Court. The Southern majority of the United States ruled that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery due to the Missouri Compromise. Southern justices also stated that African Americans have no stand in court if they were slaves, or if their ancestors were slaves. The court ruled that Scott did not in fact have legal rights in court, therefore, he devastatingly could not sue for his own freedom. Furthermore, the United States had difficulties deciding which states of the new territory gained during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48 would be free states and which states would be slave states, so they created the Compromise of 1850. This decided that all states would either be free or slave states, leaving Utah and New Mexico territories to decide according to popular sovereignty. This caused slave trade in Washington,
In 1829, a freed slave named David Walker published An Appeal to Colored Citizens of the World, in which he tried to encourage slaves to rise up against their masters, causing conflicts among the fellow abolitionists, as it was too drastic and extreme for them to take seriously. Another writer, Frederick Douglass, was an escaped slave who wrote an autobiography titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave in 1845, soon after his escape. Upon its publication, he discerned the chances …show more content…
Among these abolitionists, there was a slave by the name of Harriet Tubman. Tubman escaped from slavery in 1849 and fled to Pennsylvania. Since her family ties were severed, Tubman decided to rescue her family and others still living in slavery. Tubman managed to rescue over 60 people through use of the Underground Railroad, a network she used to travel from Maryland to Philadelphia. In 1850, runaway slaves encountered an extreme conflict after escaping when the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. The Fugitive Slave Act stated that escaped slaves could be abducted and returned to their previous owners, including former slaves living in free states. Following the passage of this act, Tubman redirected the Underground Railroad to escort the slaves to Canada, which prohibited slavery. After rescuing numerous slaves, Tubman was the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the Civil War which lead to the liberation of more than 700 slaves in South Carolina. Another important woman during this time was a woman by the …show more content…
This act, the Slave Trade Act, did not become effective until 1808. However, slave trade in the Southern portion of the United States was not prohibited. In addition, in 1842, Supreme Court decision Prigg v. Pennsylvania ruled that “states need not aid in enforcing the 1793 law requiring the return of fugitive slaves to their owners”. In 1846, Dred Scott v Sandford, a slave attempted to sue for his freedom. This slave, Dred Scott, stated that his residence in a free state made him a free man. He won the suit in a lower court, however, he lost in the Missouri Supreme Court. The Southern majority of the United States ruled that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery due to the Missouri Compromise. Southern justices also stated that African Americans have no stand in court if they were slaves, or if their ancestors were slaves. The court ruled that Scott did not in fact have legal rights in court, therefore, he devastatingly could not sue for his own freedom. Furthermore, the United States had difficulties deciding which states of the new territory gained during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48 would be free states and which states would be slave states, so they created the Compromise of 1850. This decided that all states would either be free or slave states, leaving Utah and New Mexico territories to decide according to popular sovereignty. This caused slave trade in Washington,