AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: The Abolition Movement (Day 112/309)

Welcome to today’s explanation of the Abolition Movement in my series- APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

1839 Methodist Camp Meeting, Wikimedia Commons

Changes in American society inspired many social reforms. With the expansion of democracy, many then sought to improve life for various groups. Preachers during the Second Great Awakening condemned many evils which fueled efforts to improve life.

Expansion of Slavery, The Cotton Gin-eration

One major reform effort was the Abolition Movement which sought to end slavery. As European nations began to end the institution while Southern reliance on slavery expanded, some Americans engaged in efforts to end the practice.

The North Star, December 3, 1847, PBS

While early antislavery efforts had existed since the 17th` century, the abolition movement increased in popularity through publications, like The Liberator and The North Star, and through societies, such as the American Anti-Slavery Society.

“Harriett Tupman” in “A Female Conductor of the Underground Railroad,” Library of Congress

Abolitionists including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, David Walker and others, advocated for a variety of methods to protest slavery including giving lectures, urging slave revolts, refusing to extradite accused fugitive slaves, and using the Underground Railroad.

The abolition movement grew in size and influence, especially in the North in the antebellum period, by increasing public awareness of southern atrocities through a variety of methods.

Join me tomorrow as I explain the Women’s Rights Movement in the next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!