Abolitionism

William Cohen, “Jefferson and the Problem of Slavery,” Journal of American History 56, no 3 (1969): 503-526 Thomas Jefferson is one of the pioneers who laid the foundation for what is now The United States of America. Jefferson is also reflected to be one of the most controversial because of his juxtaposing political posture of race and slave compared to his personal beliefs on this same matter. He, along with other “Founding Fathers,” owned slaves but also believed that all men were created and…

Frederick Douglass was one of the many people born into slavery in the early 1800’s. He was born in the Tuckahoe district of Maryland. Like other slaves, Frederick’s identity was kept from him, and he did not know the basic things like his age or his date of birth. It bothered him knowing how slaves were being treaded, but is not till he escaped that he became a freeman. In My Bondage and My Freedom, Douglass claims slavery not only affected him, but also slave holders, and the non-slave holding…

Harriet Beecher Stowe covered many topics throughout her book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly”. Stowe’s purpose of this book was to provide readers with an insight into the atrocities of slavery and the kindness of owners of the time. She argues this through a few lines of effort, women’s role during this time period and how religion was twisted and bent to the whim of the states to beautify slavery ultimately portraying how evil slavery truly was. Evil can be many things however…

The Social Contract Author: Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762) Introduction His books were a blue print on how Rousseau wanted to know the reasons of why the people gave up their natural liberty over the state of nature. How the political standpoint became such an impact in people’s lives. One of the things he did state in his book that stuck out to me was that, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” My thoughts on what he meant by this quote was that the people were basically slaves to…

Harriet Beecher Stowe 1811-1896 Harriet Beecher Stowe is one of the most famous abolitionists of slavery. She is known for her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin that enraged the southern slave states while inspiring and motivating the non-slave states in the north to abolish slavery. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was banned in the south in one year and sold 300,000 copies in the north. Although Harriet Beecher Stowe was a Caucasian woman nevertheless she was one of the most significant influences that…

Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a novel published in 1850, during a time in America of great tension and debate over the issue of slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of the book and an avid abolitionist, wrote this to portray a realistic image of what slavery was like to a largely unaware audience. Harriet Beecher Stowe communicated the unjust oppression of slaves in Uncle Tom’s Cabin through the the hypocrisies of the slave owners, while also exposing religion as a double edged sword, and…

David Livingstone explored Africa as a Scottish medical missionary for the London Missionary Society. His extreme fame stemmed from his working-class background, his dedicated missionary exploration, and his fierce support of ending slavery. His anti-slavery sentiments drove his desire to discover the source of the Nile River to earn enough fame and respect to call for the end of the slave trade. Youth and Education Dr. David Livingstone was born on March 19, 1813, and grew up in a single…

The Fiery Trials: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner is a historical non-fiction book which examines President Abraham Lincoln’s views on slavery from his years as a boy to the moment he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Through an insight on Lincoln’s life the readers discover his personal views of slavery being the cause of the Civil War. Foner focuses on slavery in this biography for the audience to realize why Abraham Lincoln decided that it was a practice that needed to…

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is written by one of the best known abolitionists to this day. The resonance of his story has been heard throughout the United States since its publishing date in 1845. Looking at the cover, the average American may presume that he or she already knows the daily occurrences on slave plantations, but this firsthand account sheds light on what has not always been talked about in the average American classroom. Douglass gives the…

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass Famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass, whom was a very important leader in the anti-slavery movement, constructed an autobiography titled “Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass” which detailed his life in which he lived in slavery. Although his birthdate is not known for sure, Frederick Douglass was born as a slave in Talbot County, Maryland, around sometime in the year 1818. Douglass was very well recognized in his time as he…