Opposition To Slavery Dbq Essay

Although slavery helped the U.S grow largely, opposition began to rise during the period of 1776- 1852 due to the quick expansion and acquirement of territory. People began to question both the morality and constitutionality of slavery due to termination efforts created by those who oppose slavery. It was agreed by many, that new enlightenments, followed by impacting events such as the fugitive slave acts, compromise of 1850, and religious movements all worked in hopes to terminate slavery. These argued that slavery was a violation of one’s natural born rights ( Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,) was far beyond cruel. Although, the constitution specifically does not mention anything about slavery, many used it as an argument to defend the opposition of the usage of slaves. …show more content…
Similar to the United States being under the control of Britain, and finally gaining independence; Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Nathaniel Jennsion in 1783 attempted to gain the same “ independence “ for slaves – using the same argument of those belonging to the United States. It was said that under British rule, The U.S had no natural born rights, that all rights and privileges where regulated through Britain’s legislature. Not only did Massachusetts v. Jennsion plead that the institution of slavery stripped blacks from there natural born rights, it attempted to show how cruel it was to blacks as humans. It was argued, that God gave these rights to ALL men. White or black. This argument attempted to justify the Christian position of the abolition of slavery. This was intended to inform the state of Massachusetts that the idea of freedom and living should be taken from the United States Declaration of independence, and should apply to all men. Hence the lines “All men are created equal” ( doc