About anti slavery, and the reaction to that new kind of anti slavery we have a look at opposition to slavery in a while but in the generation or two after the ratification of the constitution it was not unusual for both northerners and southerners to talk about the morality of slavery before the 18 thirties or so there were relatively few americans that believe that enslaved people ought to be immediately free given Citizenship Rights but there were many that felt that white people and black people would be better off if slavery gradually ended and if the two races sort of pursue their destinies separately in 1817 you start to see the manifestation of this idea and they movement that year a group of prominent ministers and politicians people that want to end slavery separate the races they founded an Organization Called the American Colonization Society now the idea was to take black People Living in the nine states and resettle them in west africa at the same time the society would encourage sleigh folders in the United States to emancipate their slaves and those people would also be sent to africa along, with black missionaries who blame christianity this is a really popular idea in its early years combs. Asian impartial thing the movement does not get very far. They can have a whole lot of interest yet they do not want to leave their homes to go someplace that they had never been three black people in the north condemn colonization what theyre interested in is not leaving the United States theyre entering interested in ending slavery altogether. The more the cotton economy boomed, more and slave people were worth. So less interested all told even as this Movement Goes on. It remains popular the people go to liberia a relatively small but one thing that does stand out about colonization even though its clear its not really going to work there were both white southerners and the movement and through the end of the 120s or so there was at least some openness to talking about the morality of slavery, the future of slavery in the south. This was particularly true in places like maryland and virginia where slavery wasnt as deeply entrenched as it had been in earlier decades. And it was particularly true among evangelical christian, right . We talked about the sort of secondgrade awakening, religious doctrine that at least in theory called for equality of people before god. Many evangelical ministers, even in the south early in the 19th century were opposed to slave rift i want to be clear, most white soreners did defend slavery but they rarely argued that slavery was an unambiguously good thing and they almost never said it was perfect. Instead the kind of defense you might see from southerners early in the 19th century was that they had inherited slavery. It came down from generations before them. Sometimes they might argue that their economy made the continuation of slavery into a Necessary Evil but most white people agreed that the system could use some internal reforms. There were many people who felt that in time some kind of alternative might be found to slavery altogether. In fact, early in 1832 in the aftermath of the South Hampton uprising in virginia, the statement legislature in virginia actually had an open debate about whether or not to put a gradual emancipation plan in place. Move the whole state toward a free labor economy instead. But whatever kind of openness you might have seen in the south in the 1810s, the 18 20s, by the middle of the 1830s, even entertaining those kind of ideas out loud was dangerous. The Virginia Legislature obviously rejected that gradual emancipation plan and no Southern State ever again considered emancipation before the civil war. There is a dramatic shift that happens in the south between the 18 20s and the 1830s. And essentially what happens is that instead of thinking about the future of slavery, leading white southerners instead came to the conclusion that without slavery, they had no future. And the reason this happens, why theres this sort of rapid about face is largely due to the emergence of an organized and vocal Abolitionist Movement in the north. Now, abolition anymore as a Reform Movement, like the ones we talked about last time, abolitionism is the crew said to end slavery. And as a movement, it does not have nearly as many followers as some of the movements we talked about last week. Not nearly as many as, for example. But abolitionism is the most significant Reform Movement from this era. It has the biggest impact on American History and underlying abolition anymore a are a lot of the same kinds of ideas and impulses that underlay some of the other Reform Movements so many abolitionists for evangelical christians. They believed that slavery was sinful. They believed it was an unjust restraint that prevented africanamericans from reaching their full potential as human beings and by doing that, by keeping that from living up to that potential, the United States perpetuated a social evil and it was one that did not only hurt black americans, it hurt the whole country. Slavery, they believed, impaired national potential for greatness and ultimately the nations potential for real spiritual redemption. Now, free black people, as you might imagine, in the north, had been fighting for an end to slavery ever since there was slavery. Theyd been fighting for abolition for years, decades before white americans began to respond. By 1830 there were already more than 50 black abolition societies and as time went on, those abolition societies only became more forceful. They became more hostile to the to ideas about gradual emancipation. In had been sort of the characteristic move of ant slavery since the age of the american revolution, a gradual emancipation. But instead, as the reform spirit starts to increase and gain momentum, its incyst tense on moral perfection black americans began to demand more aggressively that slavery was a sin, that slavery was unamerican, that slavery had to end and that they were entitled to their rights as citizens of the United States. So theres a rise of a more militant kind of abolitionist. And one sign of that sort of new phase of black abolition was the publication of a pamphlet by a black man named david walker. David walker was born free in North Carolina and he eventually moves to boston where he run as used clothing store. Mostly catering to black sailors. They would come off the bolt, wearing these nasty old clothes. All they want to do is get some clothes that are different and get rid of the ones theyre wear. Walker not only ran a clothing store. He also gets involved in antislavery societies, he gets involved with in 1829 he publishes the appeal to colored citizens of the world. This document is a scathing indictment of slavery, of racism and it was a warning to white americans. A warning that slavery was a sin against god. It called on black americans to mobilize for abolition and it frankly called for enslaved people to rise up in rebellion if they were not given the freedom that they deserved. Now, this was a pretty alarming thing for slave holders to hear. This is a black man encouraging violence rebellion by enslaved people. And it become even more alarming when some of the sailors who patronized david walkers store started sort of showing up in southern port cities with copies of this pamphlet. As a consequence of that alarm, a price was put on david walkers head by a number of Southern States. Hes found dead less than a year after the appeal was published. Actually, i was looking at this last night. Theres some modern scholarship that suggests he probably died of tuberculosis but its not surprising that many people believed for years afterward that david walker had been murdered. But regardless of how he died, the militancy that he expressed, that didnt die. A year later, after his death in 1831, a white man, an van gel cal christian named William Lloyd garrison takes it upon himself to start pred spreading this new kind of aggressive abolitionism. And he gives it a permanent voice. He starts publishing a newspaper entitled the liberator, and the liberators goal was pretty straightforward. It demand be an immediate unconditional end to slavely slavery. The front pain of the first issue, garrisons first editorial made it perfectly clear where he stood. He wrote i will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, meaning slavery, i do not wish to think, speak or write with moderation. Im earnest. I will not equivocate, i will not excuse, i will not retreat a single inch and i will be heard. Particularly among evangelicals, the north proved receptive browned for the antislavery cause. Its building on this longstanding foundation thats been laid by free black people. So in philadelphia in 1833, garrison, along with about 60 other people, both white and black, they founded an organization for the movement. This is how these movements work. The american antislavery by tend of the 1830s, the American Antislavery Society it had over 1,000 local chapters. More than a quarter of a impact members. Now, the Abolitionist Movement quarter of a million memberers. Now, the Abolitionist Movement holds different ideas within it. Not all have the same attitudes towards slave holders. What the American Antislavery Society is able to do, at least for a while, is its able to bring together a wide range of people. People who crossed lines of race, of class, of gender, of political persuasion. Theres a broad framework. They all desire the end of slavery but within that broad framework, different people had different visions. How do you go about pursuing that goal . For example, some people considered themselves abolitionist but really what they were still committed to was the idea of colonization. That was the most conservative type of abolition there was. Other people believed the most practical strategy remained gradual emancipation. They didnt think it was possible for it to happen all at once but the most radical people, know as immediatists were people like garrison. People who saw no reason to wait and they saw no grounds for compromise. Garrison, in fact, only becomes more radical as time went on. He starts attacking not only slavery, he attacks the government that condoned slavery. And most famously in the 1840s, he burned a copy of the constitution, referring to it as a covenant with death and an agreement with hell. Because it protected slavery. Now, when it comes to race, abolitionists also have a range of perspectives. There are some abolitionists, the most radical abolitionists, people like garrison, again. They were racial egaliterians. These were people who believed not only in freedom for black people. They also believed in equality. Giving free black people full social and political rights. Most white abolitionists dont believe in that. Most white abolitionists believe in freedom but they do not necessarily believe in equality. And this is sort of a hard thing for us to get our minds around. You could be antislavery and still pretty racist. Moving beyond race to things like strategy. Some people felt the way to do this was to take Political Action but there were other people who wanted to steer clear of politics altogether because they thought that getting involved with politics would sort of muddy up the morals of the movement. So there are all these tensions within the movement. Tensions over goals, tensions over tactics, over beliefs and ideology. There were arguments about the role of women in the movement. And ultimately by the 1840s, the Abolitionist Movement splits. It divides into a number of different factions and so by the time you get to the civil war, the term abolitionist, it doesnt really mean any one thing. Theres not any single Abolitionist Movement. Instead what that term meant was kind of a broad, decentralized spectrum of individuals. But sticking to the 1830s, which is where im going to spend most of our energy, thats when the movement is growing at its fastest and its when its at its most unified and aggressive and as the movement is growing, abolitionists are relying mostly on three big strategies for building the cause. One strategy was sending speakers out on the lecture circuit and particularly compelling abolitionist speakers were dozens of formerly enslaved people. Men like Frederick Douglass and henry box brown. Women like Sojourner Truth and harriet tubman. These were people who had direct experience with slavery. They knew personally, intimately what its evils were and what that felt like and by telling what their lives under slavery had been like, they brought a kind of authenticity, a kind of moral energy to their lectures that people like garrison could not possibly offer. Garrison only knew slavery from a distance and hes white. He couldnt speak to slavery like Frederick Douglas could. A second weapon of the abolitionists and arguably their most important was literature. Abolitionists flood the streets and the mails. With a massive outpouring of pamphlets, leaflets, newspapers, sermons, broadsides. In 1835 alone, abolitionists sent more than one million pieces of mail through the postal system. And whats in this abolitionist literature are calls for slave holders to repent, to free their slaves. Its calling on nonslave holders to join the Abolitionist Movement. And the literature is filled with condemnations of slavery itself as immoral, as unjust. It described plantations as places where the most brutal kinds of atrocities happened on a regular basis. And its a very careful kind of message, right . Abolitionists understood that americans were coming to value things, like the domestic sphere. Family life. These things that were absolutely critical for individual happiness and for national stability. And so abolitionists particularly stressed how slave families were torn apart by the institution of slavery they stressed how enslaved women were subject to systemic rape and sexual abuse. These were kinds of angles that bore special resonance for middle class white women. These are people who are drawn to abolition. Its middle class white women who serve as one of the movements really core strengths of support and manpower. Now, for abolitionists who preferred more direct tactics. Speakers was one thing. Political literature is another thing. Youre trying to persuade people to your cause. For abolitions who wanted something more direct, the movements third major strategy was a turn to politics. Political action. So some antislavery activists sent petitions to congress by the hundreds, the thousands. Sometimes signed by as many as tens of thousands of people that show up in these giant rolls of paper in washington. Still other people took Political Action to the next level. They start calling for Political Parties that would be dedicated specifically to the goal of ending slavery. And the very first one of these is founded in 1839 and it was known as the liberty party. Now, when you add all this up, you have a movement of people who are very loud, theyre very outspoken. Theyre very motivated. Theyre not that many of them. Abolitionists, for all of its growth, it remains abolitionists remain a relatively small minority of the northern population. And that was because most white northerners were not interested in racial equality. They were not interested in setting enslaved people free. Most white northerners instead felt like abolitionists were crazy people. Religious fanatics. Dangerous radicals. Selfrighteous people, annoying people. People who were much more concerned about the state of their own souls than they were about the stability of the nation. And the truth is, if were being really honest, abolitionists were pretty out there for white people in the 1820s, 30s, 1840s. But whatever what we might call fanaticism that they brought to their cause. They do have one distinct advantage with hindsight and that was theyre right. But most americans didnt feel that way at the time and so throughout the north, the homes and the businesses of abolitionists came under attack. People who were known to be supporters of the Abolitionist Movement sometimes lost their jobs. Sometimes they got evicted from homes that they rented. Abolitionist meetings and speakers were routinely interrupted by mobs. Speakers were on the receiving end of eggs and rocks and clubs. In 1835 William Lloyd garrison himself was dragged through the streets of boston by a mob. He almost certainly would have been lynched, but the police got to him and they put him in jail for his own protection. But, of course, when this kind of thing happens, its just a matter of time until somebody gets killed and in 1837, the Abolitionist Movement got its first martyr. His name was aleija lovejoy. He was a minister, the editor of an abolitionist newspaper in a town, right across the river from st. Louis. On three occasions they attacked lovejoys house, they destroyed his printsing press and he kept ordering Printing Presses and when the fourth press arrived, he armed himself. He decided to guard the warehouse where the newspaper was published and mobs didnt want to go into that warehouse because mobs are sort of fundamentally cowardly so they set the warehouse on fire instead. They shot lovejoy as he fled the building. They destroyed the Printing Press again and they dragged his body through the streets. This was bad. Assault against abolitionism and abolistinists. And yet what those