Abolitionist Movement

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The Abolitionist movement originated in the original Thirteen Colonies during the Second Great Awakening in the 1830s, where radical abolition became popular. Radical abolition, which was much more favored in the North, was charged by the religious vigor highly present during this time period. The primary goal and purpose of this movement was to promptly liberate all slaves and bring a swift end to racial discrimination and segregation. The holding of slaves in Southern plantations sparked abolitionist ideas in both the North and the South and abolitionists started to get their ideas out across the states with pamphlets, speeches, and even a newspaper, which the most famous example published was the Liberator, published by William Lloyd Garrison …show more content…
The people of this movement during both time periods promoted change by showing that both prominent races in the United States could coexist peacefully, for abolitionists could be any race and any gender. Some famous abolitionists or those in favor of abolition were Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman in the 1800s and Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X in the 50s and 60s. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, freeing the slaves located in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Harriet Tubman, during the 1840s, led slaves from the South through the Underground Railroad to the North, where they would be freed. During the 50s and 60s, Rosa Parks did not give up her bus seat to a white individual and was subsequently arrested. This small action sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a boycott of the bus system in Alabama that would continue on for months. This boycott then inspired Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which made it illegal for states to prevent those who are qualified to vote from …show more content…
Hopefully, racial tensions in the United States either decrease or subside completely in the upcoming years. With the tremendous progress that the movement has made over the years, it is a very likely scenario that the races will eventually be seen equally and coexist with one another