Question

Before the Civil War, abolitionists argued that no black person in American can really be free until slavery was abolished. What was the cost of slavery to free blacks - including both those born free like James Forten or escaped slaves like Frederick Douglass or Harriet Jacobs? Why did so many free blacks dedicate themselves to ending slavery?

Answer 1

In order to put end to the slavery in US and to let the slaves free, a movement called Abolition in the United States was started even before and during the American Civil War. The major portion of slaves were Africans, and they were around 6 million people. Certain rational thinkers condemn slavery as it breaches the natural rights. The first person to spoke efficiently against slavery was James Edward. So many people then came forward to stop this cruel custom, but slavery were rigorously used by colonies, nations, and even churches also.

Abolitionists are those who spoke against and fight for the abolition of slavery in US before the Civil War. Black Abolitionists were more in this movement. Scholars monitored the work of these black abolitionists , rather than concentrating on their knowledge on certain abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass. These black abolitionists are very much backward even to oppose the American public. Thus, because of their prejudice, they were forced from their inner mind to adopt the cultures of England, British etc.

Then, in 1852, the major influential abolitionism happened in the form of a novel, which was one of the most best-seller at that time, named Uncle Tom's Cabin. It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Through that book, he disclosed the dark side of slavery, its pain and all.

In the 19th century, a vehicle called American Colonization Society (ACS) initiates the return of American blacks to Africa. It was supported by white people nations and also gets encouragement from the very honored leaders like Abraham Lincoln, James Munroe, Henry Clay etc. Clay added that due to their black colour, they have some prejudice that they should be slaves and lower than other Americans, they cannot be combine together to stay with the white people, So many African Americans were against this colonization as they require their rights as a citizen of US like the other free white citizens in US. The significant objector of this was James Forten, who was a wealthy and free black abolitionist from Philadelphia.

During the period of 1821-22, so many blacks were moved from US with the help of ACS. They had faced a very crucial diseased environment and so many slaves died of it. Some peple survived till 1847, declaration of independence. American people who encouraged colonization disappeared slowly in the 1840s and 1850s as the other abolitionists strived much for the releasing of slaves as well as for getting them US citizenship as others.