Class Lead Discussion: Transatlantic Abolition

Class Lead Discussion: Transatlantic Abolition

Summary:
Many people believe that abolitionism came around first in the 1830’s, but little did they know, abolitionism came around way back in the late 1700’s. Not all abolition movements and gestures were as big as the one of the 1830’s, they were things as simple as a song or a story, but it made an impact nonetheless. Back in 1783 there was a religious group known as the Quakers, and they were very anti-slave trade. They really opened people’s eyes to anti-slavery and got things going after America lost in the imperial war. In fact if you ask me, they were actually the first group to really spark this abolition. In fact, they met with London and had the first petition that requested that our Parliament abolish slave trade. They grew at a steady rate and became quite powerful. They inspired many to follow in their footsteps. In 1787 the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was formed. This group took many different approaches. They gathered many signatures and even drew graphic pictures of the harsh slave ships to really get people’s attention. That’s how the Societe des Amis des Noris came about. This group was founded in France and believed in the same things that the Quakers did. Groups like this began to form all around, creating anti-slave trade groups and really creating a voice that would soon make a difference. In 1807 Parliament banned slave ships and a year later so did the U.S. drastically reducing the slave trade that had been happening. Slowly but surely this movement became even more drastic. In the 1820s the women came forth, they too took a stand and made a voice, collecting 1.3 million signatures for their petition, and in 1833 the Abolition of Slavery Act was put into effect, it “freed all slave children under age 6 and gradually phased out slavery for everyone older during a four year apprenticeship”. But it didn’t stop there; this led to even greater change. In 1840 abolitionists from America and Brittan came together for convention for anti slavery. All that the British had done was starting to inspire the people of America. But would America follow suit?

Question 1:
While reading I see that the Quakers took a lot of action, do you think without them slave trade would have lasted for even longer than it did?

Question 2:
As we read this section, we can see that the Quakers were a religious group, but the others were not, do you think we ended slave trade for the wrong reasons, like politics and money?