Abstract The paper examines abolitionism which was a key issue in electoral politics during the thirty years that lead to the Civil War. It shows that most historians use the term abolitionism to refer to antislavery activism between the early 1830s, when William Lloyd Garrison began publishing "The Liberator", and the Civil War. It discusses too, the difference between abolitionism, a morally grounded and adamant social reform movement, from political antislavery"represented, for example, by the Free Soil or Republican parties"which promoted more restricted political solutions, such as keeping slavery out of the Western territories, and was more open to conciliation.
From the Paper "Abolitionism was never a independent or singular movement. It included a bewildering collection of national, state, and local organizations, opposing policies, and clashing personalities. Abolitionists are commonly depicted as benevolent white people deeply concerned with the well-being of enslaved blacks, symbolized by such activists as Garrison and Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852). In fact, a great number of abolitionists, including Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, were African American. Free blacks in the North were stalwart in their commitment to the cause and provided a uneven share of the movement's financial funding."
Abstract This paper looks at how feminist social theory has developed, starting with Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman", the first major work of feminist theory. Male theorists who developed and enforced the natural rights doctrine are discussed. The women's rights movement is seen to have its origins in the antislavery movement. The theories from the first and second waves of feminism are discussed as well.
From the Paper "Feminist social theory has begun to have an impact on sociology in terms of the validity of issues of sex, gender, and oppression; demanding the analysis of patriarchal power, social class and the definition of entitlement to the natural rights of a person. Gender along with age, ethnicity and class is regarded as one of the major dimensions of social inequality in human societies."
Abstract This paper documents the life of former slave Frederick Douglass, the father of the Underground Railroad. The author writes that Douglass was a great advocate of black men and women voting, and equal rights for blacks and women regardless of race. The paper provides a wonderful journey through the early struggles for racial equality and end to slavery by a brave leader in the pre-Civil War Era.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Emancipation
Enlistment of Black Soldiers
Fair Wages for Black Soldiers
Equal Treatment
POWs
Awards / recognition
Conclusion
Bibliography
From the Paper "Most history classes teach only that Frederick Douglass was a freed slave who helped free others. While he was instrumental in the Underground Railroad and the emancipation of slaves, he was also a major civil rights advocate. He fought for their freedom, the equal treatment of blacks and the rights of women as well. He was an abolitionist, an orator, and editor of the North Star (later renamed Frederick Douglass? Paper)."
Abstract This paper introduces Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a revolutionary feminist of the nineteenth century who wrote extensively and promoted women's equality while also railing against those forces in society that she saw as keeping women in their place. The paper traces Stanton's life, from her birth in 1815 to her marriage to antislavery orator, Henry B. Stanton. It examines Elizabeth Stanton's activist career as writer, as president of the National Woman Suffrage Association and as co-cordinator of the Seneca Falls Convention which resulted in the 'Declaration of Sentiments' - a call for equal rights for women and African-Americans. The paper also looks at the activities led by Stanton which paved the way for women's franchise in America, two decades after her death.
From the Paper "The amendment would in effect grant suffrage to African-Americans, a goal Cady Stanton, Anthony and their female colleagues had long supported. But it would do so in a manner that pointedly excluded women. Penalizing states when "the right to vote . . . is denied to any of the male inhabitants," the 14th amendment would introduce gender restriction into the Constitution for the first time (Frost and Dupont 169).
Anthony and Stanton saw this as an expansion of male suffrage, and they tried to generate opposition among other members of the movement. Her former allies refused: They would support the amendment, they explained, because the former slaves needed the power of the ballot to protect their freedom, rights and dignity. Cady Stanton didn't disagree with that analysis but demanded, "Do you believe the African race is composed entirely of males?" (Frost and Dupont 169)."
Abstract This paper describes the life, career and accomplishments of Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis, a women's rights advocate, social reformer, educator and author. The paper describes her support and active involvement in temperance, abolition, women's rights and other reform movements and the reforms she was able to help advance as a result her involvement in these movements.
From the Paper "Paulina Kellog was born August 7, 1816 in Bloomfield, New York, on the very day that Captain Hall "delivered up the fort at Detroit" (Paulina1 pp). Her father was a volunteer in the army and her grandfather, Saxton, was a colonel in the Revolution and belonged to Lafayette's staff (Paulina1 pp). Paulina was orphaned at the age of seven and adopted and raised by her strict and religious aunt and moved to LeRoy, New York (Paulina pp)."
This paper discusses the expansion into the western territory beyond the original states and its implications on the pro vs. antislavery debate that led to the Civil War.
Abstract This paper explains that the addition of the western states to the union further complicated the delicate political balance between northern free-states and southern slave-states in the United States Congress. The author points out that one political solution was the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which provided for the settlers of federal territorial lands to decide the status, whether free or slave, under which they would join the Union; popular sovereignty was first invoked in the Compromise of 1850. The paper relates that the Fugitive Slave Act, another part of the 1850 Compromise, which proved less than satisfactory in clarifying issues about the legal implications of western expansion and its relationship with the slavery question, came under consideration of the U.S. Supreme Court when Dred Scott, a slave, who had been purchased by army surgeon John Emerson, a citizen of Missouri, spent time in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was prohibited.
From the Paper "Regarding the nation's capital, according to the compromise the slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia, although slavery would still be permitted. Finally, California would be admitted as a free state. To pacify slave-state politicians, who would have objected to the political imbalance created by adding another free state, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. Thus, the various doctrines Compromise of 1850 accomplished what it set out to do, to keep the slave/free nation united, but the solution was only temporary and ultimately, cosmetic."
Abstract This paper looks at two different aspects of the evolution of African-American Social/Ethical thought: the Dred Scott decision and reaction to it, and the work of Sojourner Truth on antislavery and women's rights issues.
From the Paper "The Dred Scott case was one which had a major impact on bringing the nation nearer to war. Mullane Dred Scott was a slave owned by army surgeon Dr John Emerson and accompanied him when he left his Missouri home to spend several years in Illinois and the Louisiana Purchase Territory, now Minnesota. Illinois at the time was a free state under the Northwest Ordinance as was the Louisiana Purchase Territory, but according to the terms of the Missouri Compromise, Missouri was a slave state..."
Abstract The paper examines Solomon Northup's "Twelve Years a Slave" and illustrates Northup's approaches to attracting Northern readers. The paper looks at how his rhetorical devices, use of logic, detail and Christian ideas draw in Northern readers and gain him support for the antislavery movement.
From the Paper "In Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave, Northup begins his amazing story with a simple and frank tone: "It has been suggested that an account of my life and fortunes would not be uninteresting to the public (17)." This simple approach begins Northup's careful use of rhetoric to appeal to Northern readers. Northup uses a logical approach to his readers by including precise detail and a straightforward tone to add credibility to his story. Northup includes religious diction throughout the piece to appeal to the religious Christians of the North. Northup also appeals to the hearts of his Northern readers by caring over his frankness during his descriptions of events of brutality."
Abstract The paper discusses the biography of John Brown (1800-1859). The paper notes that, to his admirers, Brown symbolizes the highest ideals of equality and democracy, and is idolized as a saint, martyr and a steadfast warrior, who unselfishly sacrificed his life for ending the despicable institution of slavery. On the other hand, to his detractors, he has been branded as a murderer, a horse thief, a dishonest businessman, and an insane fanatic, who used the antislavery cause to disguise his personal and business failures. The paper comments that most historians agree that his execution in 1859 sparked the deadliest conflict in US history--the American Civil War, that resulted in untold violence but also ended slavery in the country. This paper contains a brief personal biography of John Brown and focuses on his political contributions.
From the Paper "All those who opposed slavery faced brutal prosecution or worse. Brown's sons urged their father to provide help by imploring that the free-soilers in Kansas needed arms, "more than we need bread." Heeding the call, "old" John Brown began a campaign for raising money and weapons and left for Kansas in August 1855. On May 21, 1856, pro-slavery rioters torched buildings in the free-soil stronghold of Lawrence, Kansas. This act, to Brown's mind was the last straw. He decided to give the Southerners a taste of their own medicine by organizing an attack on the homes of pro-slavers in Pottawatomie Creek where Brown's men split open the skulls of five people in a brutal display of "biblical retribution." Brown's supporters have justified the killings as a "long-delayed retaliation for years of Southern violence against abolitionists and against blacks", while his detractors dub it as a clear cut case of terrorism. Predictably, the killings that came to be known as the "Pottawatomie Massacre" ignited was an all-out civil war in Kansas."
Abstract The paper describes how Salmon Chase formed the antislavery party, and the Free Soil Party with radical views against slavery that put him at odds even with Lincoln. The paper outlines his political career and highlights how it was Chase who was really the uncompromising voice to abolish slavery in the United States.
From the Paper "Salmon Chase was a driving force behind the abolitionist movement, and Abraham Lincoln's spearheading of that movement in early American history. Research actually indicates that Chase himself was the driving force for the almost holy gospel of our Democracy today, the notion of Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, the slogan of the essential Free Soil Party that was the precursor to the abolitionist movement in this country. He was a Civil War politician and jurist in the Civil War with a political career as US Senator from Ohio, then as governor of Ohio, and finally as US Treasury Secretary under Lincoln, before ascending to the position of Chief Justice of the United States."
Tags: abolitionists, liberty, emancipation, Lincoln
