Written by Harrold Stanley, American Abolitionists is a book that scrutinizes the movement of abolishing slavery in the United States. It examines the movement from its origin in the 18th century in the course of the Civil War and the elimination of slavery in 1856. American Abolitionists book focuses on the American Abolitionists who struggled to end slavery and advocated for equal rights for all African Americans in the United States. Harrold mainly focuses his book on the abolitionist movement and the effect of slaves on its expansion. The book uncovers how abolitionist fought for the end of slavery and how they contributed to the coming of the Civil War. Abolitionist movements led to the emancipation of slaves and put an end to racial discrimination and segregation in the United States.
Harrold presents the themes of feminism, black abolitionists and anti-slavery violence in the US. In the chapters of the book, Harrold explains the tactics used by abolitionists to end slavery in the South and refutes claims that they abandoned the South after the mid 80’s. He further explains why the anti slavery movement for women’s rights and the emergence of the Civil War were important. Later on, the author discusses how the Civil War was caused by abolitionists and how they were termed as irrelevant. The book explores how the abolitionists movements struggled to end slavery which led to the emergence of the Civil War.
The major contention of this book is that it addresses how the abolitionist movement helped end slavery and caused the emergence of the Civil War. The anti-slavery movement was very active in the United States and was fighting for the rights of the African Americans who were slaves in the land of America. Harrold does a good job in making clear how the concepts of race, masculinity, and femininity were important in the abolitionist movements (Harrold 102). Besides, he makes it clear that the Civil War was a turning point for black freedom and was facilitated by abolitionist movements.
Harrold uses clear evidence to support his claims through using evidence gathered from relevant sources such as excerpts from abolitionist writings, and chapters on the origins of women’s rights and a chapter on abolitionist. He unravels the history of American antislavery movements through dedicated activists such as Frederick Douglass and his call for to enlist in the Union Army and John Woolman’s and his warnings to slaveholders. Being a professor of History, Stanley Harrold was able to do further research on his topics and give a provocative account on American abolitionist and how they helped end slavery. Stanley Harrold in his book makes his arguments very clear that blacks were important figures in defining resistance to slavery and developing the abolitionist movement which included both men and women. The abolitionist movements were pioneered by blacks both slaves and free and they struggled against slavery because they were the most affected by the slavery institution.
Stanley wrote this book to make it known that American abolitionist movements were the most important reform movements in the United States history. Moreover, he wanted to make it clear that it was through these movements and abolitionism that the slavery doctrine came to an end and all the slaves were set free. The slave population in the United States had grown to about 4 million since slavery had become a powerful social and economic institution and abolitionist movements came up to put an end to it. Stanley explains that the abolitionist movements helped in the emancipation of slaves and put an end to racial discrimination and segregation. The movements achieved immediate emancipation of all slaves and ended racial segregation in the United States. Abolitionist played a vital role in ending slave trade and brining equal right for African Americans. Harrold tried to vigorously explain the antislavery movement and its effects to the Civil War. In addition, Harrold was doing his best to examine American abolitionist and their role in ending slavery and let the reader fully understand the history of slavery and the Civil War. Harrold gives an account on how slavery was ended and the Civil War started and how anti slavery politics changed overtime leading to the elections of Abraham Lincoln. Through the abolitionist movements, the blacks were liberated from servitude and given rights just like any other American.
In his book The Abolitionists and the South, 1831-186, Harrold makes it clear in his book that abolitionists were very active in the South until the Civil War and they highly contributed to the end of slavery and the emergence of the Civil War. Harrold asserts that, the abolition of slavery was the main cause of free African Americans in the United States (Harrold 123). Free African Americans worked together with the white abolitionists in the fight against slavery to bring emancipation of slaves. Abolitionist movements made the slavery question their primary concern and hastened their fight against it. The abolitionists were fighting for equal rights for the black people.
Abolitionists demanded emancipation of slaves when they learnt that the slavery institution received support from racial prejudice. Through their fight, abolitionists lobbied to overturn racial discrimination in the United States and free all slaves. Abolitionist movements grew in the US and with their stringent demands; they fueled regional divisiveness which ultimately led to the Civil War. Stanley Henry did his best in his writings by trying to explain how these movements fought against slavery and how their demands led to the emergence of the American Civil War.
American abolitionist through their publications argued against slavery terming it as a social and moral evil which needed to be abolished. Harrold asserts that through their writings, abolitionists were able to attract a large group of people in their movements who fought for the emancipation of slaves. Many abolitionists went to the South spreading their literature on anti-slavery in the South which led to immediate emancipation of slaves since word had spread out through the South. Abolitionists’ speakers were more radical and militant and took a stronger and loud voice against the slavery institution.
Overall, American Abolitionists book is a good book that explains in details how the American abolitionist worked together to end slavery in the South. Through the themes, the book unveils to the reader how abolitionist movements in the 18th century helped end slavery and caused the emergence of the Civil War. The author’s intent was to let the reader understand how the Civil War emerged and the importance of abolitionist movement in the American history and how they helped eliminate slavery. Moreover, he wanted the reader to clearly understand the roles of blacks and free slaves in abolitionists’ movements and the importance of empathy amongst anti-slavery whites for the suffering blacks. Also he wanted the impact of abolitionism be known. American Abolitionists book emerges to be a success and a proof that abolitionists’ movements played a vital role in ending slavery and causing the Civil War.
In conclusion, Stanley Harrold’s book is concise but thorough and helpful. His research on the topics addressed in the book is impeccable and he makes his insights convincing and important. Harrold’s book is readable and understandable and any reader is able to understand what happened during that period and how the abolitionist really fought against slavery. American Abolitionist book details a fascinating perspective of how abolitionist in America fought to overthrow the slavery institution in the United States. Through its themes, the text fully covers issues of masculinity, violence, the biracial character movement and the affiliation between abolitionists and the coming of the Civil War. It provides more and more details on abolitionists to scholars, students and teachers. For scholars, it provides a comprehensive research on American abolitionists, for students, Harrold provided a great introduction to the historiography of abolition studies, abolition movements in the 1760s through 1860s and the end of slavery and how it changed the lives of the blacks in America. It also provides more details on abolitionists and race, abolitionist and black freedom and how the arguments against slavery changed overtime and how it was influenced by gender, race and discrimination. The book is a success and very useful to all.
Works Cited
Harrold, Stanley. American Abolitionists. New York: Longman Publishing Group, 2001. Print.
Harrold, Stanley. The Abolitionists and the South, 1831-186. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2009. Print.
