Famous Abolitionists
She gave the famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech, advocating for both abolition and women's rights.
Sojourner Truth
This 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe was credited with shifting Northern public opinion against slavery.
This 1850 law required citizens to help capture runaway slaves, which deeply angered Northern abolitionists.
Fugitive Slave Act
This religious group, the first to collectively ban slave-holding among its members, were early pioneers of the movement.
Quakers
This landmark 1857 Supreme Court case ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, were not and could never be U.S. citizens.
Dred Scott v. Sandford
This former enslaved woman was a legendary "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, leading dozens to freedom.
Harriet Tubman.
Frederick Douglass titled his abolitionist newspaper after this celestial object that helped people navigate north to freedom.
North Star
This constitutional amendment, ratified in 1865, finally abolished slavery throughout the United States.
13th Amendment
Many abolitionists were inspired by this 19th-century religious revival, which preached that slavery was a "national sin".
Second Great Awakening
This 1854 law allowed territories to use "popular sovereignty" to decide on slavery, leading to a period of violence known as "Bleeding Kansas".
This radical abolitionist led a famous 1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, hoping to spark an armed slave revolt.
John Brown
This 1829 pamphlet by David Walker called for enslaved people to rise up and fight for their freedom.
An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World
This early 19th-century religious movement inspired many to view slavery as a sin, fueling the growth of abolitionism.
Second Great Awakening
This concept, central to many revivalist abolitionists, suggested that individuals should strive for a perfect life, leading them to fight for the immediate end of slavery.
Perfectionism
This failed 1846 proposal sought to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico, sparking intense debate in Congress.
William Proviso
This white abolitionist founded the influential anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator, in 1831.
William Lloyd Garrison
These South Carolina sisters moved North to speak out against slavery and were among the first women to advocate for abolition.
Grimké sisters (Sarah and Angelina)
Pro-slavery members of Congress passed this "rule" in 1836 to prevent the reading of anti-slavery petitions.
Gag Rule
Before the formal movement, this African American preacher led a violent 1831 uprising in Virginia after receiving what he believed were divine signs.
Nat Turner
This former President famously fought for years in the House of Representatives to repeal the "Gag Rule" that silenced anti-slavery petitions.
John Quincy Adams
A powerful orator who escaped slavery, he published a famous autobiography and the newspaper The North Star.
Frederick Douglass
This 1839 book by Theodore Dwight Weld compiled thousands of firsthand accounts of the horrors of slavery.
American Slavery as it is
This organization, supported by some early anti-slavery advocates, proposed sending freed African Americans back to Africa.
American Colonization Society
In secret meetings called these, enslaved people often combined Christian teachings with African traditions to pray for freedom.
Hush Harbors
This third party, formed in 1840, was the first to run a presidential candidate on a strictly abolitionist platform.