Who+believed+that+slavery+was+morally+wrong,+cruel+and+inhumane+and+a+violation+of+the+principles+of+democracy?Abolitionists

Who believed that slavery was morally wrong, cruel and inhumane and a violation of the principles of democracy? Abolitionists Selmira's helpful links Selmira's abolitionist movies Selmira's Google Earth Selmira's Podcast Selmira's Powerpoint Presentation Above is a picture of abolitionists helping slave escape. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.htm The Underground Railroad, a vast network of people who helped fugitive slaves escape to the North and to Canada, was not run by any single organization or person. Rather, it consisted of many individuals -- many whites but predominently black -- who knew only of the local efforts to aid fugitives and not of the overall operation. Still, it effectively moved hundreds of slaves northward each year -- according to one estimate, the South lost 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850.An organized system to assist runaway slaves seems to have begun towards the end of the 18th century. In 1786 George Washington complained about how one of his runaway slaves was helped by a "society of Quakers, formed for such purposes." The system grew, and around 1831 it was dubbed "The Underground Railroad," after the then emerging steam railroads. The system even used terms used in railroading: the homes and businesses where fugitives would rest and eat were called "stations" and "depots" and were run by "stationmasters," those who contributed money or goods were "stockholders," and the "conductor" was responsible for moving fugitives from one station to the next. For the slave, running away to the North was anything but easy. The first step was to escape from the slaveholder. For many slaves, this meant relying on his or her own resources. Sometimes a "conductor," posing as a slave, would enter a plantation and then guide the runaways northward. The fugitives would move at night. They would generally travel between 10 and 20 miles to the next station, where they would rest and eat, hiding in barns and other out-of-the-way places. While they waited, a message would be sent to the next station to alert its stationmaster. The fugitives would also travel by train and boat -- conveyances that sometimes had to be paid for. Money was also needed to improve the appearance of the runaways -- a black man, woman, or child in tattered clothes would invariably attract suspicious eyes. This money was donated by individuals and also raised by various groups, including vigilance committees.Vigilance committees sprang up in the larger towns and cities of the North, most prominently in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. In addition to soliciting money, the organizations provided food, lodging and money, and helped the fugitives settle into a community by helping them find jobs and providing letters of recommendation. The Underground Railroad had many notable participants, including John Fairfield in Ohio, the son of a slaveholding family, who made many daring rescues, Levi Coffin, a Quaker who assisted more than 2,000 slaves, and Harriet Tubman, who made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom.

Above you see a picture of Harriet Tubman(abolitionist) http://www.nyhistory.com/harriettubman/life.htm Harriet Ross was born into slavery in 1819 or 1820, in Dorchester County, Maryland. Given the names of her two parents, both held in slavery, she was of purely African ancestry. She was raised under harsh conditions, and subjected to whippings even as a small child. At the age of 12 she was seriously injured by a blow to the head, inflicted by a white overseer for refusing to assist in tying up a man who had attempted escape.At the age of 25, she married John Tubman, a free African American. Five years later, fearing she would be sold South, she made her escape. Tubman was given a piece of paper by a white neighbor with two names, and told how to find the first house on her path to freedom. At the first house she was put into a wagon, covered with a sack, and driven to her next destination. Following the route to Pennsylvania, she initially settled in Philadelphia, where she met William Still, the Philadelphia Stationmaster on the Underground Railroad. With the assistance of Still, and other members of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society, she learned about the workings of the UGRR.In 1851 she began relocating members of her family to St. Catharines, (Ontario) Canada West. North Street in St. Catharines remained her base of operations until 1857. While there she worked at various activities to save to finance her activities as a Conductor on the UGRR, and attended the Salem Chapel BME Church on Geneva Street.After freeing herself from slavery, Harriet Tubman returned to Maryland to rescue other members of her family. In all she is believed to have conducted approximately 300 persons to freedom in the North. The tales of her exploits reveal her highly spiritual nature, as well as a grim determination to protect her charges and those who aided them. She always expressed confidence that God would aid her efforts, and threatened to shoot any of her charges who thought to turn back.When William Still published The Underground Railroad in 1871, he included a description of Harriet Tubman and her work. The section of Still's book captioned below begins with a letter from Thomas Garret, the Stationmaster of Wilmington, Delaware. Wilmington and Philadelphia were on the major route followed by Tubman, and by hundreds of others who escaped from slavery in Maryland. For this reason, Still was in a position to speak from his own firsthand knowledge of Tubman's work:

Above you see a picture of John Brown(abolitionist) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist) John Brown born on (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was the first white American abolitionist to advocate and practice insurrection as a means to the abolition of slavery. He attempted to start a liberation movement among enslaved blacks in Harper's Ferry, Virginia in 1859 electrified the nation, but not a single slave answered his call. Historians agree that the Harper's Ferry raid in 1859 escalated tensions that a year later led to secession and the American Civil War. Brown first gained attention when he led small groups of volunteers during the Bloody Kansas crisis. Unlike other Northerners, who advocated peaceful resistance to the pro-slavery faction, Brown demanded violent action. His role and actions prior to the Civil War, as an abolitionist, and the tactics he chose still make him a controversial figure today. Depending on one's point of view, he is sometimes heralded as a heroic martyr and a visionary or vilified as a madman and a terrorist.

Above is a picture of the Libertor. It is explaining the abolitionist movement http://afgen.com/abmovement.html From the 1830s until 1870, the abolitionist movement attempted to achieve immediate emancipation of all slaves and the ending of racial segregation and discrimination. Their propounding of these goals distinguished abolitionists from the broad-based political opposition to slavery's westward expansion that took form in the North after 1840 and raised issues leading to the Civil War. Yet these two expressions of hostility to slavery—abolitionism and Free-Soilism—were often closely related not only in their beliefs and their interaction but also in the minds of southern slaveholders who finally came to regard the North as united against them in favor of black emancipation.ugh abolitionist feelings had been strong during the American Revolution and in the Upper South during the 1820s, the abolitionist movement did not coalesce into a militant crusade until the 1830s.

Above you see a picture of Frederick Douglass(abolitionist) http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/home.html Frederick Douglass was one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement, which fought to end slavery within the United States in the decades prior to the Civil War.A brilliant speaker, Douglass was asked by the American Anti-Slavery Society to engage in a tour of lectures, and so became recognized as one of America's first great black speakers. He won world fame when his autobiography was publicized in 1845. Two years later he bagan publishing an antislavery paper called the North Star.Douglass served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and fought for the adoption of constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights and other civil liberties for blacks. Douglass provided a powerful voice for human rights during this period of American history and is still revered today for his contributions against racial injustice.

Above you see a picture of Levi Coffin(abolitionist) http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAScoffin.htm Levi Coffin was born in Greensboro, on 28th October, 1798. After a brief education he became a school teacher. A member of the Society of Friends, Coffin attempted in 1821 to start a school for slaves but their owners refused to allow them to attend. In 1826 Coffin moved to Newport, Indiana. This was on the route where fugitive slaves made their way from the South to Canada. Coffin soon became involved in helping the runaways and it has been estimated that over 2,000 slaves stayed at his home during their journey. Coffin moved to Cincinnati in 1847 where he opened a store selling goods made exclusively by freed slaves. He also visited England to raise funds for the cause and in 1867 he was a delegate to the International Anti-Slavery Conference in Paris.

Above you see a picture of Josiah Henson(abolitionist) http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAShenson.htm Josiah Henson liberated himself from slavery in the 1820's. As a Methodist preacher, he lectured widely against the evils of slavery. He published his autobiography in 1849, which reportedly served as the major source of information for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. He helped more than 100 individuals escape to freedom. Along with other abolitionists, he purchased land in Dresden, Ontario, and created a vocational school called the British American Institute for Fugitive Slaves.Josiah Henson was born a slave on 15th June, 1789 in Charles County, Maryland. He was sold three times before he reached the age of eighteen. By 1830, Henson had saved up $350 to purchase his freedom. After giving his master the money he was told that the price had increased to $1,000.Cheated of his money, Henson decided to escape with his wife and four children. After reaching Canada, Henson formed a community where he taught other ex-slaves how to be successful farmers.

Above you see a picture of David Ruggles(abolitionist) http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASruggles.htm David Ruggles was born in Norwich, Connecticut in 1810. After moving to New York City in 1829 he worked as a grocer. Ruggles joined the anti-slavery movement and in 1833 began working for the journal, Emancipator and Public Morals. The following year he became America's first Afro-African bookseller when he opened a bookstore near Broadway. Ruggles also wrote several anti-slavery pamphlets including Extinguisher, Extinguished (1834) and Abrogation of the Seventh Commandment by the American Churches (1835). Ruggles worked as a conductor on the Underground Railroad (1835-38) and was one of those who helped Frederick Douglass when he arrived in New York. He was also secretary of the New York Vigilance Society, an organization that helped defend African Americans in court. In 1838 Ruggles became editor of the Mirror of Liberty. In 1846 Ruggles opened a Hydropathy Centre where he treated a large number of people including William Lloyd Garrison and Sojourner Truth. He also campaigned for the desegregation of private transportation. David Ruggles died in Florence, Massachusetts, on 26th December, 1849

Above you see a picture of John and Jean Rankin(abolitionists) John and Jean Rankin and their neighbors in Ripley, Ohio, helped thousands of people escaping to freedom. A Presbyterian minister, John Rankin organized antislavery groups on a local and state level. Their home, sitting above the Ohio River, was known as Liberty Hill.