John Brown Puts His Accusers on Trial

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John Brown Puts His Accusers on Trial American Experience

Premiered January 22, 2013

John Brown Puts His Accusers on Trial

The raid on Harpers Ferry failed, but Brown successfully brought attention his cause.

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The raid on Harpers Ferry failed, but Brown successfully brought attention his cause.

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John Brown Puts His Accusers on Trial

Would President Lincoln sign the Emancipation Proclamation? Abolitionists were unsure.

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Lincoln's Uncertain Commitment to Emancipation

Abolitionist support for the Union Army grew thanks to the Emancipation Proclamation.

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The Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War

In 1857 the Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott, a slave who sought freedom.

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What Was the Dred Scott Decision?

By 1859, the conflict between North and South challenged Garrison's "peace man" status.

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William Lloyd Garrison, Pacifism, and Abolitionism

In his 1845 book, Douglass told the truth about his life as a slave, despite the risk.

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Frederick Douglass Writes His Autobiography

The Mexican-American war (1846-1848) changed the slavery debate.

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Slavery and the Mexican-American War

Download the American Experience: Mapping History iPhone app, featuring The Abolitionists.

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Map History With Us!

Frederick Douglass offers a eulogy to the abolitionist movement at Garrison's funeral.

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A Eulogy to the Movement

Abolitionists Theodore Weld and Angelina Grimke wed in a "scandalous" 1838 ceremony.

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A Radical Wedding and a Violent Response

In 1835, William Lloyd Garrison and Lewis Tappan proposed an anti-slavery campaign.

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A Viral Campaign against Slavery

After reading reports of pro-slavery violence, Angelina Grimke began to speak out publicly

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Angelina Grimke Goes Public

Despite living in luxury, Angelina Grimke believed slavery was a sin of God.

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Angelina Grimke Rebels

In 1829, Angelina Grimke left Charleston for an uncertain future in the North.

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Angelina Leaves Home

Theodore Weld, Angelina Grimke, and Sarah Grimke's 1839 book documented slavery's horrors.

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Bearing Witness: American Slavery As It Is

The Anti-Slavery Society's great postal campaign of 1835 triggered a wave of repression.

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Burning Abolitionist Literature

The 1850 Fugitive Slave Law imposed the rule of Slave states onto Free states.

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Defying the Fugitive Slave Law

Frederick Douglass had just begun his life as a slave when he watched his aunt get beaten

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Frederick Douglass Begins to Understand Slavery

In 1833, Frederick Douglass was sent to a slave breaker to be beaten back into submission.

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Frederick Douglass Reacts

Douglass questions the pacifism of white abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison.

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Frederick Douglass, Pacifism, and Abolitionism

The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 made the hunting down of escaped slaves full legal.

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Fugitive Slave Act

William Lloyd Garrison speaks to a crowd in Nantucket and introduces Frederick Douglass.

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Garrison Introduces Douglass

William Lloyd Garrison published the first issue of "The Liberator" on January 1, 1831.

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Garrison Publishes "The Liberator"

On a trip to Kentucky in 1833, Harriet Beecher witnessed slavery up close.

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Harriet Beecher Stowe Visits a Slave State

Premiering January 8 2013. Turning a fringe movement into a force that changed the nation.

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Preview

The Abolitionists

Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1852 and changed American opinions on slavery.

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The Book that Made the War

What was the economic value of slavery to 19th century American life?

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The Economics of Slavery

Abolitionists were surprised by the vehement reactions to their 1835 postal campaign.

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Violence Against Abolitionists

A "transformative moment in history that stems from actions of ordinary individuals."

Watch (02:59)

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Why We Made The Abolitionists

William Lloyd Garrison moved to Boston at 22. Abolishing slavery is his main cause.

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William Lloyd Garrison arrives in Boston

The Grimke sisters, Angelina and Sarah, lectured against slavery throughout the 1830s.

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Women's Voices in the Abolitionist Movement

In 1856, disagreements about whether Kansas would be a free or slave state grew violent.

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Will Kansas Be a Free Soil State?

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About the Program

American Experience

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