Slavery And Equality Essay

Equality: The Abolitionist’s Stand on Slavery After the formation of the United States of America’s government, the newly established country soon became separated on another issue. The issue of slavery weight heavily over the young country, causing conflict between two opposing groups: those who were pro-slavery and the abolitionists. While those who were considered pro-slavery felt that the act of slavery was within the boundaries of the law and was constitutional, those who opposed this idea were known as abolitionists. This group, through many different forms, fought for the rights of all men—including those who were enslaved—and justified the need to end slavery. Through their many appeals and public appearances, these men shared their views and their vision of what society would have been like without slavery. According to Fredrick Douglass, in terms of slavery around the world that “for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival” (Douglass, …show more content…
They were not seen as human, and were thought to be ignorant, this was argued by Douglass, who, while giving his Fourth of July speech, pointed out that African Americans held esteemed positions such as “lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators, and teachers” (Douglass, para. 39) The term brute was often used to describe the African American population. They were also seen as wild animals, traded and sold from one slave owner to another without a second thought. Slaves, according to Douglass, were “reared like swine for the market” (Douglass, para. 50 ) They were seen as nothing more than property, to be like “marketable commodities, as goods and chattels” (Garrison, 68.). Garrison also makes the point that it is because of the dark color of their skin that they “suffer the pangs of hunger, the infliction of stripes, the ignominy of brutal servitude”