5 Abolitionism Essay

1384 Words3 Pages
Picture the face of a terrified soul, standing frozen for a moment half way across a dirt road, on the face are layers of dirt, dust, sweat, panic, and muddy tears that cannot believe the hell they are going through. This is what the road which abolitionists wanted to close. This is the face that abolitionist wanted to help. This paper compares and contrasts the philosophies and strategies of five abolitionists: John Brown, Angelina Grimke, William Lloyd Garrison, Harriett Beecher Stowe, and Fredrick Douglas, and the modalities of conveying their messages. While early colonists saw slavery as an answer for cheap labor, to help colonial American grow and prosper, the law, thankfully, no longer permits such cruelty; I pray we never fall back to such contemptuous acts and states of mind. John Brown was an abolitionist in the mid-19th century. The document “13-13” is an excerpt from a primary source (book) “’The Life, Trial and Execution of Captain John Brown’ . . . (New York: R.M. DeWitt, 1859),94-95” (qtd. in Yazawa 334-35). Brown fought and died for his belief in freedom for his fellow human beings, which include slaves. He based his argument against the practice of slavery on his understanding of the Bible; he says, “[T]he New Testament . . . teaches me that all things whatsoever I would that men should do to me, I should do even so to them. It teaches me further to remember them that are in bonds as bound with them. I endeavored to act up to that instruction [sic]” (qtd. in Yazawa 335). This quote shows why it was necessary for John Brown to take the actions he did. He would have wanted someone to come to his immediate rescue if he was in his or her condition. I know I would, and think anyone else would too. His la... ... middle of paper ... ...and as a portal of egress for the American-slaves, helping to wipe away some of their muddy tears. Works Cited Douglas, Frederick. “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York. 5 July 1852. Word Document. Garrison, William Lloyd. “’No Compromise with the Evil of Slavery’, Speech, 1854.” Civil Rights and Conflict in the United States: Selected Speeches. Lit2Go Edition. 1854. Web. July 07, 2014. Grimke, Angelina. " APPEAL TO THE CHRISTIAN WOMEN OF THE SOUTH, BY A. E. GRIMKÉ.." ANTI-SLAVERY EXAMINER 1.2 (1836): 1-4. American Anti-Slavery Society. Library of Congress. Web. 8 July 2014. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's cabin, or Life among the lowly . Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. Web. 8 July 2014. Yazawa, Melvin, et al. Documents for America's history. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. Print.
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