The Abolitionists

To create a more perfect union, they tore the nation apart.

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The Abolitionists American Experience

Premiered January 08, 2013

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The Abolitionists

The story of how abolitionist allies William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown and Angelina Grimke turned a despised fringe movement against chattel slavery into a force that literally changed the nation.

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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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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."

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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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