African American Freedom Trail: From Slavery To Freedom

A widespread of movements to end abolition in pre-civil war era ensued and the end of the now illegal Atlantic Slave Trade, as it was continued in Brazil and Cuba until the late 1850’s, even though the US ended it in 1807. The theory was, in the minds of western European countries, if there was still a market for African slaves in the Americas, trade would still continue (Hardt 2000). Many religious groups in parts of Europe and America determined slavery as unorthodox and inhumane. The Enlightenment during this time also made comments on slavery, determining slavery as a violation of basic human rights. The U.S. saw high levels of abolitionism the first half of the century, where in 1817, three thousand free blacks protested in Philadelphia to advocate for the agreement that white and blacks were deserving of the same rights.

The New York Historical Society (n.d.) states, “historically New York has been considered the capital of American liberty, hosting monuments devoted to freedom and promoting economic ambition as well as diversity; however, it is also, paradoxically, the capital of American slavery.” Slavery in New York started in the 1600s when the Dutch West India Company brought African slaves to what is today New York (GSA, n.d.). During the 17th and 18th-century, slavery was considered an investment and according to the New York Historical Society (n.d.), “almost every businessman in the 18th-century had a stake in the traffic of human beings.” Slaves improved the economy, they produced sugar, tobacco, indigo, coffee, chocolate, and cotton, which permitted

The New York Vigilance Committee began its life in 1835, and did a tremendous work in order to help the fugitive slaves arriving in the city. In fact, there are three ways in which it aided in the antislavery cause during the 1830s and 1840s. The first one is the way the organization fought slave kidnapping. As we can read in the book, “Most of [the organization’s] attention was devoted to kidnapping cases.”

In their sorrow state the once freed slaves wrote up a petition directed towards the government to that encouraged them to allow the freed slaves that once occupied the land to purchase if given the opportunity (Foner 566). After years of work day in and day they had received no benefits in return. When Lincoln emancipated them, it allowed them to finally gain a benefit from their labor: land. In the document they plead many cases for why they should receive the land.

Slavery in New Jersey was introduced in the 17th century. Men and woman were brought from Africa to be slaves for their owners for life. That changed After the Revolutionary era, New York and New Jersey didn’t abolish slavery like all the other states, but in the 18th century, few steps were taken to improve the condition of slaves. A law was made; If the infant of a slave was a girl, she had to work for her mother’s owner for 21 years and she would be free. If the infant was a boy he had to work for 25 years

After all, the slave count was very minimal in comparison to the total population, so it wouldn’t make sense for a small percentage of people to plan an uprising when they knew that they are outnumbered and overpowered. According to the Historical Society of the New York Courts, “In 1741, New York had a population of around 10,000 people, some 2,000 of whom were slaves”. This means that the slave population only came out to about twenty percent of the total population, and if they and the poor British lead a revolt, they would still be facing a lot more than they could handle. According to this reason alone, the chances of a rebellion are very minimal, but this reason is not the only

At the time slaves in New York had contact with each other no matter who they were owned by. This was how they communicated their planned rebellion. As the country was beginning to build, the slaves were being used to build and sustain it even though they were given no rights or freedoms in America. After doing all of these tasks and living their lives under a lash, the slaves fought for freedom.

There were two main leaders of this rebellion of sorts, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. These two men had different methods of disobedience, but all sorts of disobedience yearned for the same goal: to establish equal rights for African- Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. used a method of civil disobedience where they would peacefully protest without violence. Sit-ins, marches and other forms of civil disobedience along with many other factors led eventually to the desegregation of America. Without this disobedience, America may still be segregated today and African- Americans wouldn’t have equal rights.

Slaves live under terrible conditions and were often separated from their families. The constitution was written and it did not mention anything about slavery. The early abolitionists were motivated by religion beliefs; most of them were Quakers who were the first abolitionist movement who believed that everyone had the same “spark of divinity” making slavery immoral. Benjamin Lundy was a Quaker who urged southerners to free their slaves.

The abolitionist movement during antebellum America was a pivotal moment in the history of social justice and civil rights, signaling the importance of challenging the status quo for those who faced oppression. The movement brought together a diverse coalition of activists, including enslaved individuals, free black citizens, and their white allies, to shed light on the human cost of slavery and advocate for abolition. The abolitionist movement laid the groundwork for future social justice struggles by demonstrating the power of collective action and the importance of organizing, mobilizing, and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. Lastly, the antebellum abolitionist movement brought to the forefront the importance of the concept of freedom for all communities, highlighting the interdependence of individual liberty and social justice, and inspiring generations of activists to continue fighting for a more just and equitable

Even though many people didn’t support the abolitionist movement, it was important for the abolitionist to continue to endorse the movement since it promoted the freedom of slaves, the end of discrimination and segregation. Abolitionist wanted to end slavery because they saw it as cruel and unjust, they also wanted to reunite the slaves with their families. Abolitionist wanted equality for African-Americans in order to give them their rightful place in society, abolitionist even sought after legislative changes like amending the constitution since they believed it was proslavery. William Lloyd Garrison’s newspaper, The Liberator, helped persuade and recruit many followers for the movement. David Walker’s booklet, Appeal:

In America, opposition to slavery started with acts of defiance such as “slave resistance”, where African American slaves would rebel in several ways to attain greater freedom. While this “revolution” gathered steam, with slaves often running away from their masters and finding shelter in swamps, lakes or in cities that believed in their cause, more organized forms of opposition, led by reformers like William Garrison (Document E), who founded The American Anti-Slave Society, also started gaining traction. The growing opposition to slavery, by both slaves and their white sympathizers, eventually culminated in a determined abolitionist movement that highlighted the plight of so many and galvanized public opinion against an appalling institution. The abolitionist movement (the organized opposition to slavery) gained momentum in the late 1700s as state after state in the north abolished slavery (Document A), starting with Vermont in 1777.

The revolution had amazing effects on slavery, and thousands of slaves won their freedom by serving on both sides of the War of Independence. As a result of the Revolution, a surprising number of slaves were liberated, while thousands of other slaves ran away to be freed. Many slaves in the south ran away and were able to achieve

While slavery and black freedom were a huge topic, the one right behind it was women 's rights. There were many women at this time that started to speak out. There were many black women such as Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman who both started the movement not only to African American rights, but womens rights too. Look up Sojourner Truth 's "Ain 't I a woman"

I The Age of Enlightenment also known as the Age of Reason is a name given to the period of Western Civilisation that followed the Renaissance. The Enlightenment occurred roughly from mid of 17th Century upto the end of 18th century. In the words of M. H. Abrams, “The name Enlightenment applied to an intellectual movement and cultural ambience which developed in