How Did African Americans Contribute To The Abolitionist Movement

The abolitionist movement grew in numbers and in strength during this time. William Lloyd Garrison and the Grimké sisters spoke out publicly against slavery, although, these and other white abolitionists drew public attention to the cause, African Americans themselves played a major role in antislavery efforts. Frederick Douglass was the most widely known African American abolitionist. Others took more direct action in leading enslaved people to freedom. The Underground Railroad helped runaway slaves from the South reach freedom and safety in the North. The most famous “conductor” on this train was Harriet Tubman.
Between 1819 and 1860 events led the United States closer to a civil war. The major issue in these events was slavery in the territories. In 1819 Missouri applied to Congress to join the United States. The admission of Missouri, a slave state, would have upset the balance of 11 slave states and 11 Free states that existed in the Union. The Missouri Compromise offset the admission of

The Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery in the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment defined citizenship, and the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited state and federal governments from denying the vote to any male citizen because of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The Freedmen's Bureau distributed food and clothing and provided medical services to African Americans. Perhaps its most important service, however, was to establish schools and provide teachers. As some African Americans exercised their right to vote, others took elected positions in state legislatures, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. Some whites wanted to limit the rights of African Americans. They accomplished this through the passage of laws called black codes. Other groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, used intimidation and violence to prevent freed men and women from exercising their