Abolitionists

Americans Who Worked to stop slavery in America

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Effectiveness Scale

As you take notes, consider to yourself how effective each of these abolitionists were in fighting to end slavery. They all wanted it gone, but some were more effective than others. Use the scale below:

_______________________________ 1-Great 2-Somewhat 3-OK 4-Somewhat 5-

Great Harm Harmful Did some good Helpful Help

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Cotton Gin: Technology That Promotes Slavery

Eli Whitney created the cotton gin as a gift for his friend, Katy Greene. She was a widow, who could not harvest enough cotton to pay her bills; it was too hard to get the seeds out of the cotton. The cotton gin pulled the cotton through brushes so that the seeds came out easily. As much cotton as could be grown, they could now harvest. Thus, an increase in slavery occurred.

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Nat Turner

Nat Turner was a slave who was a preacher for the slave village. The story of Moses leading the Israelites out of slavery appealed to him. In 1831,He led a revolt of slaves in Virginia, killing several people. He was caught before he could escape Virginia and was killed. This violence was a warning to the country that troubled times were ahead.

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Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (Isabella Baumfree) was born as a slave in New York. After she gained her freedom, she traveled around to speak the truth about the evils of slavery. She was a powerful speaker & writer.

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John Brown

John Brown led the “Bloody Kansas” revolt over popular sovereignty, as they voted on whether to allow slavery. Then, he led an attack on the army post at Harper’s Ferry! He wanted to steal the army’s guns, give them to slaves, and lead them in their fight out of Virginia up to the North. He was captured at Harper’s Ferry by a young colonel (Robert E. Lee), tried, and hanged for his crimes.

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Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe interviewed slaves who had escaped from the South. From these stories, she wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. It was a best-selling book, and shocked the world about some of the horror stories from plantations in the South.

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Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was a slave who had been taught to read and write. After he escaped, he used his great speaking ability to talk about the evils of slavery and he published a paper called the “North Star.” He later called for free black men to help fight for the North in the Civil War.

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William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison published an abolitionist newspaper called the “Liberator”. It spoke out harshly against the plantation system, and an reward for his capture was placed by the Southern states.

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Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was a former slave who established the “Underground RR”. She led 19 “trips” that freed 300 people. She was never caught, though a $40,000 reward was offered. She was known as the “Black Moses”.

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Underground RR

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Dred Scott

Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom in the U.S. Supreme Court after his owner had taken him to a free state. The Court ruled that he was not a citizen but “property” under the law. This case could’ve outlawed slavery, if the judges had chosen to do so. Instead, this decision indirectly led to the Civil War.

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Henry “Box” Brown

In 1849, Henry got some abolitionists to put him in a box, and mail him to the abolitionist society in Philadelphia. With only a tool for air holes, a canteen, and some biscuits, he traveled in the box for 350 miles from Richmond to Philadelphia. The trip took 27 hours, and the box was 3’ x 2 x 2 ½’!

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Abraham Lincoln

Though Lincoln was opposed to slavery, he felt that only Congress could abolish slavery. He did promise to keep it from spreading to new states. When the Civil War occurs, he gives the “Emancipation Proclamation” that frees all the slaves when the war is over.

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Central Abolitionist Project Provide a chart of how each period rated each

abolitionist.

Provide a Rating Scale of Your Class’s Ratings (#1-5)

Provide a Rating Scale of Your Team’s Ratings (#1-5)

Discuss the similarities & differences between your class ratings and the Team’s ratings.

Draw a political cartoon about the effectiveness of 1 or more of the abolitionists.

Write a paragraph on who you think was the “unsung hero” of the Abolitionist Movement.

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Abolitionists

Abolitionists Per. 1 Per. 2 Per. 3 AVE

Nat Turner 2.1 1.8 1.8 1.9

Sojourner Truth 4.3 4.3 4.1 4.2

John Brown 2.6 2.0 1.5 2.0

Harriet B. Stowe 3.8 4.0 3.6 3.8

Frederick Douglass 4.4 4.5 4.8 4.6

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Abolitionists

Abolitionists Per 1 Per 2 Per 3 AVE

William L. Garrison 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.6

Harriet Tubman 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.0

Dred Scott 3.0 3.5 3.1 3.2

Henry “Box” Brown 3.1 4.1 3.2 3.5

Abraham Lincoln 4.5 4.8 4.8 4.7

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ABOLITIONISTS: CENTRAL’S TOP 10

1. Harriet Tubman (5.0) 6. William L. Garrison (3.6)

2. Abraham Lincoln (4.7) 7. Henry “Box” Brown (3.5)

3. Frederick Douglass (4.6) 8. Dred Scott (3.2)

4. Sojourner Truth (4.2) 9. John Brown (2.0)

5. Harriet B. Stowe (3.8) 10. Nat Turner (1.9)

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