“You son of a bitch: If you ever send such papers here again, we will come and give you a good Lynching…” wrote the Lynch Club of Charleston, South Carolina, to newspaper publisher William Lloyd Garrison, “So you had better keep them at home.” This was one of two letters that Garrison published in his paper, The Liberator, on February 15, 1839, sarcastically titled, “Polite Letters from...
Slave-trading was not fully unlawful in Baltimore by June of 1841, and slave-owning was still considered befitting to the community, particularly on the plantations. Slave-dealing was conducted openly here. While public attitudes were changing about the institution, the local Christian community seemed too complacent to push for change. They instead attempted to show their pious and benevolent...
In 1837, Angelina Grimke authored a series of letters to Catharine Beecher on the topic of the cultural roles of women as they relate to their social, economic, and political rights. One was reprinted in Women's Rights Emerges within the Antislavery Movement, 1830-1870 by Kathryn Sklar. In the letter retitled by Sklar as, “Human Rights Not Founded on Sex,” Grimke argues that humans have rights...
For ten days in June 1840, abolitionists from both sides of the Atlantic met together at the World Antislavery Convention in Freemason’s Hall in London, England. The purpose of the convention was to better organize and unite international abolitionist forces in the fight for emancipation. Ironically, while championing the freedom of black slaves, the convention reinforced a different type of...
Some affairs in the media are profound enough to make a mark on peoples perspectives. The trial and imprisonment of Jonathan Walker was one of these cases. This episode takes place in Pensacola, Florida during 1845. Walker had been sympathetic to slavery and took action toward its abolition, which eventually led him to be the first and only victim to suffer the severe punishment of being branded with...
In the mid-19th century, the changes in the public mindset towards slavery had not yet been fully reinforced by law but the distaste with which other countries had viewed the institution for some time was clear. Blatant racism was still plainly evident, yet the abolition movement was now growing and the public response to prejudice was now becoming very different. After recent written accounts...
J.D.B De Bow printed one of the most widely circulated southern agricultural chronicles of the 1800’s; the purpose of the journal was to bolster the South and the region’s economy. In one article printed in January 1858, entitled “Northern Morals,” De Bow claimed the higher rate of divorce in northern states was due to poor character, loose morals, and weak faith. Indiana’s 19th century divorce...
On December 20, 1848, in a small chamber of the Assembly Buildings in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society held a very outspoken convention. Many gathered -- presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries -- in order to set straight their position in regard to the Free Soil Party and the church. They were also going to let the people of Pennsylvania know their stand on the United States...
Gerrit Smith was a prominent abolitionist and leader of the early Liberty Party during the 1840s and 1850s. He worked to help slaves and promote abolitionism in his lifetime, including spending his own money for the cause. In a letter to a friend, Smith described how he had posted bail on different occasions for a man named Chaplin, who was being punished for enticing slaves away from their southern...
Susan B. Anthony was born in 1820 into a Quaker family full of activist traditions. According to the Susan B. Anthony House, in 1845, after moving to Rochester the family became very active in the anti-slavery movement. Ignoring opposition and abuse, she traveled and campaigned for the abolition of slavery and women's rights to their own property and earnings. She also campaigned for women's labor...