Leaders of the Abolitionist Movment
By: Sydney Simmons
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was the first African American woman to gain recognition as an anti-slavery speaker. She was born a slave in New York but was freed through gradual emancipation. She had a powerful speaking style and she drew large audiences when she lectured about slavery and women's rights.
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave that was the most succesful conducters of the underground railroad. The underground Railroad wasn't a real railroad but a chain of homes where escaped slaves could ask for help, find shelter for the night or catch a ride to the next stop. This chain of safe houses ran from the South to Canada where slaves could start a new life. Tubman is known as the "Moses" of her people because she led more than 300 slaves out of the South, including South Carolina, to freedom.
William Lloyd Garrison
Garrison was the publisher of an abolitionist news paper known as The Liberator. He and others formed the Anti - Slavery Society. Garrison's newspaper was banned in the South, and many people from the North didn't like his paper and was often harassed.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Stowe's book became a best seller and revealed the cruelty of slavery to many Northerers. Stowe wrote the book in response to stronger Fugitive Slave Act that was passed in the copromise of 1850.
John Brown
John Brown wanted to use violence instead of peace on slavery. He participated in the violence called "Bleeding Kansas". John Brown led a raid on Harper's Ferry. He was unsuccessful and was tried, found guilty, and hanged.
Fredrick Douglass
He escaped slavery and became a spokesman. Once the Civil War started, he encoraged president Lincoln to let slaves serve in the union army. After the war he continued to fight for the rights of African Americans and women