Abolition PP Notes

Declaration of Independence
Quakers and other groups opposed slavery
Development of secret runaway slave communities
Underground Railroad
International laws forbidding slavery
1776 – Independence would be the beginning of an actual end to slavery in the U.S.
Abolition Groups
Society of Friends
Pennsylvania Antislavery Society
New York Manumission Society
(NY abolished slavery 1799 – members like Alexander Hamilton)


Influence of Anti-Slavery Campaigns
Robert Carter III – freed more slaves than any other owner in history: 450 in 1791
Freed slaves in the Upper Southern States went from 1% to 10% after 1776
Many men who free slaves were influenced by their fight in the Revolution and it’s principles of equality for all men


Anti-Slavery society formed in 1787
Slave trade abolished in 1807, bye Britain
Slaves in British colonies set free in 1834

Arguments for abolition…
Moral Argument: ‘it was wicked’
Economic Argument: ‘slavery was not worth it’
Legal Argument: ‘slavery was illegal’
Religious Argument: ‘slavery was unchristian’
Political Argument: ‘slaves hated slavery’
Revolutionary Argument: ‘slavery would lead to more revolts’
Moral Argument
‘Slavery is an evil of the first magnitude. It is a most horrible iniquity to traffic with the souls of men. Any man who deals with his fellow creatures with such wickedness should be held as the abomination of all mankind. Those who are the procurers and holders of slaves are the greatest villains in the world.’
Economic Argument
In 1776 Adam Smith, in his book The Wealth of Nations argued that slave labour was inefficient, maintaining that a person with no rights had no reason to work hard.
By the 1790s, French sugar was costing 20% less than British sugar. London merchants were no longer able to make good profits from the sugar trade.
They started to transfer their investments from Caribbean plantations to the new cotton mills in Lancashire or the Empire in India.
Legal Argument
By the 1770s there were some 15,000 black people in Britain. Most, brought by their owners from the West Indies, worked as household servants.

A number of test cases seemed to show that slavery was not legal under British law

Somerset case 1771-72: a slave, James Somerset, had been brought to England and now refused to be taken, against his will, back to the colonies. The law decided that he could not be forced to go.

Legal Argument
Zong case 1781: the slave ship Zong had left Africa with 470 slaves and a crew of 17. By the time it was nearing Jamaica, most of the slaves were ill. The captain knew that he would not be able to sell the slaves in such poor condition so he ordered the sick slaves to be thrown overboard. He claimed that he had to do this to save the lives of the others and the crew because he was short of water. This allowed him to claim on the insurance value of the slaves. In fact, the insurers refused to pay and the case went to court. The ship owners claimed that the slaves were ‘goods and property’, not human beings. This case caused widespread horror, and helped to get the Anti-Slavery campaign going.
Religious Argument
‘repugnant to our religion’ (Barnsley Methodists)
‘A system full of wickedness, hateful to God, and a curse and disgrace to Britain’ (Derby)
‘A system revolting to the feelings of mankind and inconsistent with the counsels of Heaven’ (Hereford Ladies)
Agitation to abolish the slave trade began in Britain in the 1760s. Many of its first members were Quakers.
They received massed support from the Baptists and Methodists and, in 1787, persuaded Granville Sharp to become the chairman of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
Problems in the Caribbean
There was never a time when the white British rulers of their Caribbean islands felt totally secure.
Slavery was never accepted, by the Africans particularly, but also by the native born black populations.
There were a number of serious revolts:
1730-40 First Maroon war, Jamaica
1735-36 Revolt in Antigua
1760 Tacky’s revolt in Jamaica
1763 Kofi’s revolt in Guyana
1795-96 Second Maroon War in Jamaica
1795-97 Fedor’s rebellion, Grenada
The Revolutionary Argument
The idea of fighting against oppression was encouraged by the ideas and activities of the French Revolution.
The French island of Saint Domingue was the richest colony in the world, and the biggest slave market in the Americas.
The French Revolution began in 1789 and, in 1791, the French Government declared all people equal.
The whites in Saint Domingue would not accept this, and the slaves rose up in revolt.
The Revolutionary Argument

Their leader was Toussaint L’Ouverture and, in 1794, the French Government granted all slaves in Saint Domingue their freedom.
The British, and other slave-owning countries in the Caribbean were horrified and sent troops to crush the rebellion.
They were easily defeated by Toussaint L’Ouverture.
In 1798 he became the first ruler of an independent black state.
Slave Abolition Act 1833
After 1807 slaves were still held, just not sold
Act 1833 Was given approval from British crown:
Ended slavery, but forced into indentured servants with apprecticeships (1834)
Apprenticeships slowly ended (1840)
After 1807 slaves were still held, just not sold