Standard 12 American History
Item #1
In 1775 a group of mostly Quaker men met in Philadelphia to discuss anti slavery and they decided to call their group the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. They are known in history to be one of the most famous anti slavery. There were many people who were out to abolish slavery. William Lloyd Garrison was one of them, he joined the Abolition movement and he also joined the American Colonization Society. This group believed that free blacks should move to the West coast of Africa. Fredrick Douglass, a former slave, gave many speeches about the days he spent in slavery and how poorly he was treated. Sojourner Truth gave many speeches about slavery and womens rights. Angelina and Sarah Grimke were sisters whose father was a slave owner, they wrote books and articles about being abolitionist. Henry David Thoreau was very against slavery and even wrote an article titled "Civil Disobedience". Charles Sumner opposed slavery into newly acquired territories.
http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/newmanpasessay.pdf
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1561.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html
http://www.biography.com/people/sojourner-truth-9511284
http://www.biography.com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784#walden-pond
Item #2
The Second Great Awakening was what prompted many people to want emancipation on religious grounds. Abolitionist ideas started becoming very popular in many Northern churches. This is one of the main reasons for the Civil War. The North wanted no more slavery and the refused to give it up hence starting the war. Quaker faith was one of the many faiths back in the 17th century. Quakers objected taxation for military purposes. They objected this because the peace testimony had led many of them to refuse to bear arms or to play any part in the military action so therefore they wanted nothing to do with the military. Since the Quakers wouldn't pay taxes for military purposes most of them were imprisoned and might be subject to extreme cruel punishment.
Item #3
The Northwest ordinance of 1787 laid the basis for the government of the Northwest territory. The Northwest ordinance has such great importance because it forbid slavery in Northwestern territories thereby making the Ohio river a dividing line for the free slave states and the non free salve states. Many people may wonder why the South agreed to this ordinance considering they had the most slaves. One of the reasons the South agreed to this is because tobacco was a primary crop in the South, this crop could only be grown profitably with assistance slave labor so by outlawing slaves in the Midwest the South was protecting themselves from economic competition. Jefferson had his fair share in having slaves but he still made it a point to keep slavery out of the Northwestern territory.
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Northwest-Ordinances
https://www.americanhistoryusa.com/northwest-ordinance-1787-effects/
Item #4
The Underground Railroad was a system that had many people, blacks and whites, helping slaves get to the Northern states or Canada so they could gain their freedom. It was neither underground or a railroad, it got its name because they had to do their work at night so they wouldn't be seen. Harriet Tubman is one of the most well known conductors of the Underground Railroad. She led 300 slaves to freedom, making 19 trips to the South in just a ten year span. Harriet Tubman was born into Slavery and had to endure many hard times all through her teenage years, including a head injury that would have an effect on her for the rest of her life. She was helping so many slaves be freed the reward for turning her in was $40,000. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote an anti slavery book titled "Uncle Tom's Cabin". In the book she explained the hardships of slavery that she had seen. Even though she never endured slavery because she was a white women she still played a big part in trying to end it. She once met with Abraham Lincoln and it said that he said to her "So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war". Little is known about the meeting but what he said to her shows the significance of her book and how it split the North and the South.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/underground-railroad
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/oh1.htm
http://www.biography.com/people/harriet-beecher-stowe-9496479#later-life