A Brief History of American Abolitionism

Dr. Stanley Harrold is an American Historian of the 19th century. Harrold is a professor at South Carolina State University where he teaches history. Harrold is a well-known scholar that has written numerous informative books and journals. Harrold wrote American Abolitionists and it was published in the year 2001. Harrold provides insight into worldwide slavery and abolitionist studies. Major themes are seen throughout all nine chapters such as, early abolitionists, rebellions, women abolitionists, the second great awakening, anti-slavery associations, the biracial characteristics of the movement, the civil war, emancipation, and the social and racial consciousness among races post war. This book was written to educated students that history changes over time, with new documents, new types of elucidation, and new social and racial understandings. Harrold makes it clear that slavery existed in a broad variety of forms throughout the world since ancient times. In some early civilizations slaves served as domestic servants, concubines, wives, soldiers, teachers, and agricultural workers. Slaves were people of many races who lost their rights as a consequence of war or religious discrimination. As slavery declined in Europe bondage continued to prosper in Africa. During the fifteenth century “West African warfare and European expansion merged and a new brutal dehumanizing form of slavery came to existence” As a result of the trade between Africa and the Americas, slavery was part of a broader Atlantic system that developed into its antebellum form over time. African Americans endured the brutalities of the slavery and bondage for centuries and abolitionism did not emerge until the eighteenth century. According to the textbook... ... middle of paper ... ...ifteenth amendment were passed feminists abolitionists pushed for voting rights of women. By the end of the nineteenth century black southerners still faced political, social, economic, and educational segregation designed to keep them subservience. Conditions in the North were still better suited for blacks than those conditions of the south. The fight for racial equality continued far after the Civil War and Emancipation. In conclusion, many events and people advocated for the abolishment of slavery and the movement towards emancipation. Without anti-slavery associations, revolts, rebellions, abolitionist leaders, and the civil war the abolitionist movement would not have gradually pushed for emancipation. Although the abolitionist movement did not achieve the goal of racial equality, abolitionist fought to end racial segregation in the South for years.