According to Stanley (1), Christian humanitarianism, the resistance by the black people to enslavement, economic change, as well as intellectual developments are the main factors that led to the rise of the Abolitionist movements in the European countries—particularly Great Britain- as well as in the colonial Americas. Of these factors, the black’s resistance was considered the most important factor. Ever since the 1500s Africans as well as persons of African descent had tried to liberate themselves from slavery using force. The objective of this movement was the immediate liberation of every slaves as well as the termination of racial discrimination and also segregation. Furthermore, it targeted to end the Atlantic slave trade that took place in the Atlantic Ocean between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Abolitionists were in favor of immediate emancipation and this differentiated them from the free-soil activists who mainly pursued to curb slavery to prevailing areas and in addition to stop it from spreading further west, and from the modest anti-slavery advocates who were debating for gradual emancipation. Major abolitionism was partially powered by the religious zeal of the Second Great Awakening that impelled several people to fight for freedom based on religious grounds.
In the beginning of 1830s,the ideas of the Abolitionist grew more and more prominent in churches in the Northern and politics (Stanley 1).
In the United States, the abolitionist movement, offered women: the language needed to define their status, public speaking skills, organizing tools and political strategies, a knowledge of useful supporters, as well as motivation (The Liz library 1).All through the abolitionist movement within the south and north, women were actively involved, for instance, the Grimke sisters of South Carolina. The sisters were instructed not talk on the issue of abolition, because it was viewed as un-ladylike. Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Staton who were the co-founders of the women rights movement were also devoted followers of the abolitionist movement. Together, the women went to London at their own expense to be present at an abolitionist conference, however, on one occasion, because of their gender, they were denied admittance. The reason behind this denial by the conference’s sponsors was that the matter was too subtle for the ladies’ ears. This event steered the ladies to call the Seneca Falls Convention which first supported the equality- as well as equal rights- of women. The Seneca Falls convention of 1848 was one of the crucial early moments in the suffrage as well as women's rights movement in the United States. Primarily, the convention was prepared by a group of Quaker women during Lucretia Mott’s visit. It brought together three hundred people, men and women; in addition it formed a strong Declaration of Sentiments backing for women's equality as well as the right to vote. The women rights movement made use of the arguments for human rights and equality practiced in the abolition movement in their personal lives and pressed for equal consideration for women (James 2).
Hence, it is just about correct to say that the abolitionist and women's movement were permanently tied to one another; one movement having preceded the other movement by just a short period of time, and both of them born of the common movement of the Second Great Awakening.
Works cited
James Brewer. Abolitionist Movement.History.com. Web 25 November 2013
http://www.history.com/topics/abolitionist-movement
TheLizlibrary.The Abolitionist Movement and Women's Suffrage.thelizlibrary.org.
Web 25 November 2013http://www.thelizlibrary.org/suffrage/abolition.htm
Stanley Harold.Abolitionist Movement. World history.Web 25 November 2013 http://autocww.colorado.edu/~toldy2/E64ContentFiles/WorldHistory/AbolitionistMovem
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