Abolition Movement Dbq

As discussed previously, there were a multitude of opinions regarding slavery in America during the 19th century. The abolition movement, however, advocated for the immediate emancipation of all slaves, as well as the end of all racial discrimination. There were several factions within the movement: religious abolitionists who were morally and religiously motivated by the Second Great Awakening, political abolitionists of the Liberty party, Free Soil party, and the early Republican Party, and militant abolitionists who resorted to violent tactics in the face of oppression. Such differences also led way to conflicts within the abolition movement. They disagreed on matters such as the involvement of white abolitionists, the course of action that

should be taken in the aftermath of emancipation of blacks, and the level of violence that should be involved in the abolition movement. Some abolitionists, such as Thomas Jefferson, thought it impossible for blacks and whites to forget “deep rooted prejudices” and “injuries they [blacks] have sustained” during times of slavery, and called for the need to send all former slaves back to Africa. Others had more optimistic views, and believed in a racially harmonious America. Generally, political abolitionists preferred to distance themselves from militant abolitionists, who were more willing to resort to violence. Sympathy towards the anti-slavery became especially prominent in Northern states in the early 1830s, marking the beginnings of the American Civil War. Black leaders such as David Walker and Frederick Douglass passionately invigorated their communities, by warning them not to be pacified by the improved conditions in the north. Walker uses aggressive language and calls for violence from the north, if needed, in order to defend the still-enslaved black populations in the south. Douglass, in his Fourth of July speech, points out that no northern black man is really free, if they can be enslaved once again if they happened to travel to the south. In order to gain sympathy from the white population, Douglass also compares the fight from oppression of the black population to the fight that America also once experienced under British rule.
The abolition movement was a positive force overall, as it led to the emancipation of former black slaves. The abolition movement also played a part in the women’s rights movement, as the emancipation of blacks catalyzed the desire of the same rights from women, and showcased the possibility of attaining such desire. Also, female abolitionists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Catherine Beecher became heavily involved in the women’s rights movement.
One may argue that reform movements in American history were not a positive force, by pointing out the inability of the abolition movement to solve the entirety of racism in America. After all, even after the emancipation of black former slaves, they faced several racism and segregation, both in social and legal channels. For example, the Jim Crow laws, a racial caste system between late 1870s and mid-1960s, presented a series of anti-black rules that enforced segregation. A common example of such law in real life situations would be whites sitting in the front of the bus, while blacks were limited to the back seats. The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case in 1896 solidified the separate but equal laws for public facilities.
However, eventually, the civil rights movement and the progressive era occurred. Nonviolent protests and civil disobedience brought the problematic situation to light, bringing together communities of oppressed black populations and sympathetic whites. Some demonstrations that highlighted the racial inequality during this time include the Montgomery Bus Boycott, “sit-ins”, and the Selma march. Charismatic, educated black leaders such as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois became leading advocates for racial equality in education, housing, employment, and public services. In Washington’s book, “Is the Negro Having a Fair Chance?” he extensively delineates major issues stemming from racism and differences between the northern and southern states. Advances made in the progressive era will be further discussed later in this writing.
In all, although the immediate aftermath of the abolition movement did not solve all racial problems in America, it did make progress that acted as catalysts to other movements in not just racial issues, but in women’s issues as well. Admittedly, there were unsolved race-related problems in America after the abolition movement, but the progress from enslavement to enfranchised populations cannot be denied. The movement was not a giant leap, but a tiny step towards total racial equality. Also, the problems were later addressed by another movement of a positive force. Thus, an upwards trend is evident.
As mentioned previously, there were many parallels drawn between women and slaves regarding their limited mobility and lack of legal rights. Just as African American slaves were once regarded as being inferior to whites, women were also once regarded as physically and mentally inferior relative to males. This attitude was both the cause and effect of severely limited education and career paths for women, as their gender barred them from many opportunities, but were belittled and dismissed as being incapable for not attaining them nonetheless. This ironic attitude is reflected in the literature of the time, such as “The Yellow Wall Paper” by Charlotte Gilman. To elaborate on the legal barriers placed on women, up until the middle of the 19th century, coverture laws determined that women “did not have a separate legal existence from her husband… like an underage child or a slave”. In other words, women could not own their own property, control their own wages, or even divorce their husbands. As a result, women were stuck in a system that confined them to the role of a docile and emptyheaded housekeeper.
The women’s rights movement can be seen to have officially began with the Seneca Falls convention in 1848, where the Declaration of Sentiments was signed, proclaiming: “all men and women are created equal… endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights”.

The feminist movement utilized tactics such as lobbying and petitioning to promote not only women’s suffrage, but also social reform. Mary Beard goes as far as to state that “in the progress of modern social legislation of all kinds… not a single important statue has been enacted without the active support of women”. Women became activists in progressive causes, ranging from advocating for the temperance movement to supporting local charity organizations. For example, women supported Harvey Wiley’s Pure Food Campaign by sending Congress “letters, telegrams, and petitions pleading for the passage”. However, women knew that “congressmen are more affected by men whose votes elect or defeat them” so they had to convince men to become their voice. In this process, there was constant miscommunication, and it was common for legislation pushed by women to become “so modified by uninformed legislators during the process of legal enactment”. Thus, it only made sense for women to demand for the right to enact change through their own votes. The persistence of women fighting for their suffrage rights was extremely important, as Beard says, “without their constant hammering at every man whom they can reach, women know, and men

know and admit, that the franchise [suffrage] would never be extended to women”. In this quote, Beard states that without their tenacity, women may have never gained access to their voting rights. It took constant pushing from their part to be eligible to fully participate in politics.
As discussed previously, the emergence of women into the political sphere led to a “new social sympathy into political action”. Their political participation led to great advances in social reform, improvement of the American general public. Just as the abolitionist movement overlapped with the women’s rights movement, the women’s rights movement played a great part in the progressive era as well.
During the Progressive era, women played a great part in absolving labor conflicts and fightin for civil rights reform.

Women such as Edith Abboth and Sophonisba Breckenridge established social work as a legitimate academic field, paving a pathway for future advancements in the topic. Specifically, women were greatly involved in the labor movement, giving voices to workers who were previously oppressed and mistreated by large and powerful corporations. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, for example, organized the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1905, and successfully won a major strike of mill workers in Massachusetts, 1912. When the children of the workers on strike were leaving town to be cared by families in New York City, the police attacked them. As a result, there was great sympathy for the mill workers from the general public. Like such, gaining the public’s support was a large part of the accomplishments of Progressives. Ida Tarbell was a journalist who wrote articles to expose unfair business practices, corporate greed, political corruption, and social inequalities. Through her writing, she was able to bring awareness to pressing issues stemming from economic inequality. By writing about these issues, she was able to become the voices of those who would normally not be heard due to their economic status as the poor, working class.
Overall, the Progressive era made great strides in advocating for social injustice issues that were previously unknown or ignored by the general

public. Progressivism allowed for social and economic mobility of previously oppressed populations trapped in intergenerational and systematic injustices. Female leaders, who were able to contribute so much to the Progressive era after the women’s rights movement, played especially crucial roles in this movement.
Throughout American history, there has been an upwards trend in the effects of reform movements. Although political participation in America was once limited to white, land-owning males, the abolition movement, the women’s rights movement, and the populist movement expanded the eligibility to greater populations. With each movement, said eligibility has stretched to include more and more marginalized groups, who previously did not have much influence due to their race, gender, or economic class. The abolition movement enfranchised former slaves and catalyzed the women’s rights movement, which produced greatly influential women who made great contributions during the Progressive era to voice the grievances of the poor working class. Although there may have been negative consequences that were created at the time, a later movement came in to correct such consequences, as can be seen by the civil rights act that occurred in the face of socially and legally discriminated blacks. Because each movement listed in this writing are so intertwined, each empowered group continuing to enable other populations in a domino-like effect, none can be categorized as irrelevant.