Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The Anti-Slavery Crusade

In class tomorrow, we will discuss the origins of the abolition movement, which actually date much farther back that William Lloyd Garrison.  It was Garrison, however, that often earns credit for being a pioneer in the abolitionist crusade.  It is even more curious that Garrison denounced slavery in 1831--the very same year as Nat Turner's insurrection.

Is it just a coincidence that one of the leaders of the abolition movement emerges at the same year that a revolution takes place, causing more southerners to staunchly defend slavery?  Consider how social movements, even today, often stir significant reactions from opposition groups (i.e. gun control, gay marriage, etc.).

6 comments:

  1. The Nat Turner Revolt certainly put a strain on Southern and Northern Society. It was this social movement that made everybody jump to pick a side and defend it to the grave. Similar to gay rights, each side seems to defend it rather extremely, especially its opposition. Times of crisis like this allow for certain figures to rise from the crowds so all can hear their voice. They become needed as was William Lloyd Garrison to pioneer the abolition movement. Even more then needed they became relevant and slavery was such a current topic he became a central figure head.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I believe it is true that one of the leaders of the abolition movement emerges at the same year that a revolution takes place and causes more southerners to SLAUNCHLY defend slavery because it is a competition between 2 opposite sides, and if one of them just grow stronger suddenly when both sides are having conflicts, the other side will always strong itself to be balanced. Slaves rebelled in South and provided good chances for Northerners to say "we have to abolish slavery" so Southerners had to give stronger defends so it could still keep slavery. Some examples today, such as gun control and gay marriage, are conflicts that stand right in the middle between two opposite sides. If them just lean to one side a little bit, it will probably cause more problem so there should be a pioneer to kind of give a hit as strong as possible to change the situation a lot, or totally.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nat turners rebellion was the spark that ignited the fire. Turner’s rebellion lasted only 48 hours, but within that time span, many were killed. I believe that it was not a coincidence that one of the leaders of the abolition movement emerged during this time. The topic of abolishing slavery was current and on everyone’s mind. This allowed someone to come in and lead that discussion, or rebellion. Society was ready and open for the change. Social movements, even today, like gun control, tend to be controversial, there are varying opinions for either side of the argument. Some are firmly set against gun use, while others are adamant about having no guns. For most people, there is no happy medium, just like in slavery, there were either to be free or rebel.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think since the Nat Turner rebellion occurred people became scared that they would revolt against everyone. I feel this caused the formation of the Abolitionists along with their beliefs that slavery was morally wrong and it should not be apart of the United States in any way shape or form. I also feel the rebellion was kind of the first major split in the country because people had to choose weather to stick with the Southerners beliefs or follow the new beliefs presented b the Abolitionists.

    ReplyDelete
  5. After reading this story, I feel that one of the leaders of the abolition movement came into play the same year that a revolution took place and caused more southerners to defend slavery because it is a huge argument between the North and the South. Slaves rebelled in the South and provided good opportunities for Northerners to say we want to get rid of slavery as well. There are many conflicts today that are being fought between two sides. For example, gay marriage is a huge argument that is going on in the US today. I feel gay marriage should be allowed anywhere because they are still people even though they are into there own gender. I think gay marriage and slavery are very similar in the fact that they both try to leave out people from living a nice normal life. I also feel the Northerners and Southerners slaves wanted the same equal rights.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do not think it is a coincidence that Garrison denounced slavery in 1831--the very same year as Nat Turner's insurrection because Nat Turner's insurrection might have urged Garrison to denounce slavery because of the consequences that happened from the uprising. Social movements like gun control and gay marriages often stir negative reactions from the opposing groups because there are more people on side of the movement like gay marriage and especially gun control due to the shootings that have happened over the years and the most controversial school shooting being columbine high school in the 90's.

    ReplyDelete