Black Abolitionism Essay

The character and role of black abolition in the 1800s was monumental and played an important role in the history of the United States with the eradication of slavery. Leading up to the Civil War, abolitionism created one of the fist times in the United States that white and blacks worked together to achieve the same goal, the immediate end of slavery. Although several other factors played a role in the eradication of slavery, the bravery and determination of the black abolitionists was by far one of the most powerful. During and following the Revolutionary War, slaves petitioned both on a state and national level to put an end to slave trade and to achieve emancipation. Through this, anti-slavery societies began to form within the black …show more content…
Throughout the abolitionist movement, conflict arose between black and white abolitionists. The black abolitionists didn’t feel they were being treated as equals to white abolitionists. As Higginbotham and Franklin point out in the text, “White abolitionists, blacks charged, were at best paternalistic and at worst openly discriminatory, explicitly denying free blacks their civil rights in northern communities. Supporting abolitionism did not necessarily mean supporting racial equality” (Higginbotham & Franklin, 193). Many white abolitionists became so focused on ending slavery in the south, that they really didn’t care about the injustice in the …show more content…
During the Second Great Awakening, abolitionists used the Bible as a way to defend their cause for anti-slavery. Charles Grandison Finney became one of the most central figures during this time. Many people joined Finney’s Holy Band. “Finney and his followers insisted that slavery was contrary to the teachings of Christianity, since Jesus taught universal brotherhood” (Higginbotham & Franklin, 190). Supporters of the Second Great Awakening argued that all men were created in the image of God, and for that reason, slavery was an evil that needed to be