JP Doucette 4-21-10 Period 3 APUSH Our Inheritance - A ... - Teacher

JP Doucette 4-21-10
Period 3
APUSH
Our Inheritance - A Legacy of Reform
Reform: The Abolition Movement
Describe as completely as you can the situation at the start of the movement:
The first American movement to abolish slavery came in the spring of 1688. German and
Dutch Quakers of Mennonite descent in Germantown, Pennsylvania (now part of
Philadelphia) wrote a two-page condemnation of the practice and sent it to the governing
bodies of their Quaker church, the Society of Friends. Though the Quaker establishment
took no immediate action, the 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery, was
an unusually early, clear and forceful argument against slavery and initiated the process
that finally led to the banning of slavery in the Society of Friends in 1776 and in the state
of Pennsylvania in 1780. The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in
Bondage was the first American abolition society, formed in 1775, in Philadelphia,
primarily by Quakers who had strong religious objections to slavery. Rhode Island
Quakers, associated with Moses Brown, co-founder of Brown University, and who also
settled at Uxbridge, Massachusetts prior to 1770, were among the first in America to free
slaves. The society ceased to operate during the Revolution and the British occupation of
Philadelphia. After the Revolution, it was reorganized in 1784, with Benjamin Franklin
as its first president. Benjamin Rush was another leader, as were many Quakers. John
Woolman gave up most of his business in 1756 to devote himself to campaigning against
slavery along with other Quakers. The first article published in what later became the
United States advocating the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery was
allegedly written by Thomas Paine. Titled "African Slavery in America", it appeared in
the Postscript to the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, more popularly known
as The Pennsylvania Magazine, or American Museum.
Given further research since your brainstorming, what do you now see as the ten most
significant steps in progress toward equality in this area?
1. July 2, 1777 - Vermont becomes the first jurisdiction to abolish slavery.
2. August 22, 1781 - In Brown and Bett v. Ashley, a Massachusetts judge rules that the
state constitution "free and equal clause applies to blacks.
3. July 8, 1783 - The Massachusetts Supreme Court declares slavery unconstitutional in
Commonwealth v. Jennison
4. March 22, 1794 - Congress prohibits Americans from taking part in the international
slave trade.
5. December 28, 1854 - Harriet Tubman leads seven slaves from Maryland to freedom
in Pennsylvania through her famous Underground Railroad.
6. March 6, 1857 - The Dred Scott Decision denies freedom to slaves taken into free
territory.
7. January 1, 1863 - The Emancipation Proclamation frees slaves in the Confederate
states.
8. December 6, 1865 - The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution officially

abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as
punishment for a crime.
9. April 9, 1866 - The first of two Civil Rights Acts passed during Reconstruction
declares that all persons born in the United States, except untaxed Indians, are
citizens and have equal legal and property rights. Adopted over President Andrew
Johnson’s veto, the act sought to counteract the Black Codes adopted in former
Confederate states.
10. July 28, 1868 - The 14th Amendment, which extends citizenship to all persons born
in the United States and guarantees due process and equal protection of the law, takes
effect.
What is your thesis to explain the relative success (or lack of it) in this movement?
Through years and years of perseverance and determination, the Abolition
Movement finally found it’s success through the passing of several pieces of legislation
including the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil Rights Act, and perhaps most
importantly, the 13th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution. These
pieces of legislation and the movement as a whole laid the groundwork for not only
future movements regarding the rights of African-Americans, but for all reform
movements collectively.