Slavery and Abolitionism - Research Paper Example

College Slavery and Abolitionism Though anti-slavery and abolitionist movements sprouted in the early 19th century, the movements faced tough resistance from many quarters, especially for proposing that black be treated on the same platform as whites. Abolitionist movements faced stiff resistance that sometimes degenerated into violence as authorities across states marshaled forces to disperse and halt the increasing anti- slavery campaigns among the groups. Incidentally, the church, which symbolized morality and the value of humanity largely, was not pro-antislavery, but in many instances, the church was reduced to a racial institution that doubted the possibility of a black man living free from a white man.

The abolitionist movements faced immense threats from political leaders who used legislation to halt the antislavery movement. For instance, a law was passed in Massachusetts in 1788 banning any ‘negro people’ from residing in the state, an attempt that challenged the declaration of liberty at independence (Minardi, 29). Interestingly, the determination of the minority groups was later to instill an abolitionist memory among some whites in Massachusetts, which late became the first state to outlaw slavery in America.

As a result, most abolitionist movements were born and staged in Massachusetts, where they launched the fight against slavery. Massachusetts played an important role in the abolitionist campaign mainly backed by the fact that many revolutions had begun in the state, including the struggle for independence. Consequently, there was a strong revolutionary culture, which largely influenced the actions and beliefs of Bay citizens in future handling of the slave question (Minardi 170). Considering the strong sense of the concept of liberty gained in the fight for American independence, it was not surprising that Massachusetts people carried over these liberation thoughts to fighting slavery, making the state the center for abolitionist movements.

Blacks had to position themselves strategically as heroes of the American Revolution to establish a strong relationship between the struggle and their abolitionist campaigns, which put them in a better pace to “further the abolitionist agenda” (Minardi, 171). Therefore, considering the abolitionist movement had their footing in Massachusetts and that even the whites had joined the abolitionist movements, there is a need to understand the integration of these factors towards abolition of slavery in America.

Shilliam narrates of the perception that the whites created about blacks concerning black’s inability to be civilized, which fueled resistance among abolitionist movements across America. For instance Haiti, one of the several islands where freed slaves were dispatched, eh decision behind sending freed slaves to the Island was considered “as something unimaginable, unintelligible and unthinkable” (Shilliam 100). This implies that, to whites, the black man was completely savage and impossible to civilize towards adopting the European standards of life.

As such, granting such person independence would not be of any value. To construct a clear picture on the status of Negros during slavery and the factors that fueled the antislavery movement, Fielder (488) explains whites’ perception of Africans, which fuelled opposition to abolitionist movements. For instance, the blacks were compared to inhuman primates, a common method that the whites used to justify enslavement and the impossibility of the blacks attaining civilization and living as free beings.

The use of animals was meant to lower the status of blacks to the same level as domesticated animals, giving the whites the privilege and authority to dominate them for life. To illustrate the grave matter of portraying blacks as animals, the abolitionists, due to the spread of this belief and practice had to use “animalization of black people” towards appealing for humanity for the black people and the liberty as equal men to the whites (Fielder, 489). Abolitionists’ use of animals was a way to appeal to the inner sense of the whites to have the blacks treated as men and women with the same dignity as whites, a method that most abolitionists employed in the advocacy for the anti-slavery ideologies (Fielder,492).

This led to composition of poems and cartoons to enlighten children on the equality of humanity despite their colors (Fielder, 493). The church in its part as a moral custodian of the society took a gentler approach towards slavery, which contradicted the church’s teachings. For instance, between 1840 and 50s, the abolitionist campaign was heightened before splitting the established churches as some denominations still held to pro-slavery sentiments (Hinks, McKivigan & Williams, 46). The Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptist anti-slavery advocates, broke ranks with their churches and established other churches or groups that had stronger support for abolitionist movements.

While some churches were more pronounced on the need adopt gradualism in releasing slaves, anti-slavery movements were interested in an immediatism plan, which aggravated the conflict between anti-slavery movements, policy makers and the church. Therefore, to understand the structures and organization of anti-slavery campaigns and their strategies in achieving goals, there is a need to examine critically the abolitionists’ movements from Massachusetts, the barriers and legislation used against them.

Moreover, it would be important to understand the role of the church in the entire anti-slavery campaigns and the integration between the three parties (the pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups and the church). Understanding these concepts will involve investigating Massachusetts and abolitionists’ strategies in using the state to launch abolitionist campaigns. Investigating these factors will lead to a better understanding of the struggle that ended slavery in America. Work Cited Hinks, Peter, McKivigan John and Williams Owen.

Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition, Volume 1. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 2007. Minardi, Margot. Making Slavery History: Abolitionism and the Politics of Memory in Massachusetts. NY: Oxford University Press, 2010. Nicole, B. Fielder. Animal Humanism: Race, Species, and Affective Kinship in Nineteenth-Century Abolitionism. American Quarterly, 65.3 (2013) 487-514. Robbie, Shilliam. Civilization and the poetics of slavery. Thesis Eleven, 108.1 (2012) 99-117.