2. The daily life of slaves.
• Living Conditions – large families
in one-room cabins; unbalanced
diets, no running water or poor
sanitation
• Some slaves became artisans
• Allowed to marry and have
children
• Many subjected to Cruel
Punishments and denied basic
human rights
• Could be sold and separated from
family at anytime.
3. Nat Turner’s Rebellion
• August 1831 in Southampton
County, Virginia
• Nat Turner, a black religious leader
led 70-75 slaves on attack
• They killed 60 whites, including
men, women, and children
• Spread fear among slave owners
– States passed stricter laws
controlling activities of free and
enslaved blacks
4. ABOLITION
when a law or a system is officially ended
• Principles behind Abolition Movement
o Political – “All men are created equal”
o Religious – equal in the eyes of God
• Abolitionists wanted the immediate,
emancipation of all slaves.
• Involved men and women
6. Frederick Douglas
• Escaped from slavery at age 20
• Wrote 3 autobiographies
• Published anti-slavery newspaper,
The North Star
• Toured the North giving speeches
and appearing at public anti-
slavery events.
• Supported Women’s Rights
Movement
Frederick Douglass
7. William Lloyd Garrison
• From Boston
• Published The Liberator, 1831
• Organized New England Anti-
Slavery Society, 1832
• Went to Europe to gain
support for abolition
• Saw slavery as morally wrong
8. Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Born into a religious family of
Abolitionists
• Wrote the book, Uncle Tom’s
Cabin in 1853 after meeting
runaway slaves and hearing
their experiences
• Book was a best seller that
made many Americans
aware of the evils of slavery
9. John Quincy Adams
• In 1836, Congress passes the
GAG RULE – preventing any
bills restricting or ending
slavery
• Q. Adams fought against the
gag rule calling it
unconstitutional.
• The gag rule was finally
suspended in 1844
10. Harriet Tubman
• Most famous “Conductor” of the
Underground Railroad
• After escaping herself, she made
19 separate trips back to the
South and helped about 300
slaves escape to freedom
– She was called “Mama Moses”
• She served as a spy for the
Union during the Civil War
11. Underground Railroad
• Secret network of abolitionists who worked together to
help runaway slaves reach freedom in the North or in
Canada
• Runaways would travel 10-20 miles before they reached
the next “station” which would be houses, barns, or
cellars of white or free black people who chose to help
them escape.
• They would be helped along the routes by people like
Harriet Tubman, called “conductors”
