Curated OER
An Abolitionist Lecture
Tenth graders investigate the Abolitionist Movement in the United States. For this 19th century American lesson, 10th graders research Frederick Douglas, William Lloyd Garrison, and Sojourner Truth and their efforts to end slavery....
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Mosaic: Influence of Prominent Abolitionists
See documents and pictures of those actively involved in the anti-slavery movement. From the Library of Congress.
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Mosaic: Conflict of Abolition and Slavery
Historical documents trace how the abolitionists virulently decried slavery and denounced those who supported it.
Digital History
Digital History: Radical Reform and Antislavery
Find a comprehensive history of the anti-slavery movement and how it fit into the larger reform movements of the first half of the 19th century.
University of Virginia
Declaration of Sentiments of the Anti Slavery Convention
This primary source text written in 1833 by William Lloyd Garrison provides an excellent window into the anti-slavery argument and sentiment of the time.
University of South Florida
Civil Rights and Conflict Selected Speeches: No Compromise With Evil of Slavery
A speech given by William Lloyd Garrison in 1854 in which he advocates for the abolition of slavery. The readability level, word count, and citation are provided. An audio rendition of the speech can be heard as well as downloaded in mp3...
University of Michigan
Making of America: The Spirit of the South Towards Northern Freemen and Soldiers
The full text of a William Lloyd Garrison's compilation of newspaper articles and letters of Southerners railing against the North in the Civil War. There is no commentary, only the primary source documents.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Addressing Slavery
In this section from a chapter on "Antebellum Idealism and Reform Impulses," students will learn about the different approaches to reforming the institution of slavery and be able to describe the abolitionist movement in the early to...
Other
Geni: American Abolitionist Movement
Looks at the history of the abolitionist movement in the United States, the key people involved, and important events.
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Odyssey: Abolition, Anti Slavery Movements
A section of an online exhibit that deals with historically important documents about the abolition movement from its earliest Quaker beginnings in the early 18th century through 1860.
US Department of State
Bureau of International Information Programs: History Outline: Sectionalism
Article reviews several conditions of American society that sowed the seeds of civil war, particularly slavery and sectional conflict.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History by Era: Slavery and Anti Slavery
[Free Registration/Login Required] An excellent essay explaining the roots of the anit-slavery movement in the United States in the early 1830s and its evolution over the next twenty-five years. Read about the abolitionists, both white...
Cornell University
Cornell University: Library: I Will Be Heard: Prominent Abolitionists
Find the impetus behind the anti-slavery movement and the philosophy that united all abolitionists even though they followed different routes. Included are links to individual biographies of prominent abolitionists.
Library of Congress
Loc: Abolition
This site, which is provided for by the Library of Congress, is part of the African American Mosaic. It describes abolition and gives references to books about the topic.
University of Missouri
Famous Trials: Susan B. Anthony a Biography
Short biographical sketch describing early feminist Susan B. Anthony and her role as a leader in the suffrage and temperance movements. Linked to the Susan B. Anthony Trial Homepage.
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: David Walker's Appeal
A description of the impact of David Walker's "Appeal" calling for slaves to revolt. Click on the link to read the original text. Click on Teachers Guide for teaching resources
Other
Wwhp: American Anti Slavery Society
A good review of the evolution of the support for the abolition of slavery from the first anti-slavery organization formed by the Quakers to the support for Abraham Lincoln as president. Focus is on the American Anti-Slavery Society and...
Other
Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography: Maria Weston Chapman
Here is good biography about the life of Maria Chapman and her sisters. Read detailed information concerning their involvement in the abolitionist movement.
Other
Unitarian Universalist Biographical Dictionary: Lydia Maria Child
Read about Lydia Child's involvement with the abolition movement and her work in the 19th century women's suffrage movement.
Other
Student Historical Journal 1984 1985: Women's Rights Before the Civil War [Pdf]
Read an overview of the pre-Civil War women's rights movement in a student essay in an historical journal from Loyola University. Find out about specific activists prominent during this time period and learn about their attempts to...
Other
Frederick Douglass Comes to Life: A Short Biography of Frederick Douglass
In addition to providing a brief biography, this website includes pictures of Frederick Douglass as well as links to speeches and important quotes.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Frederick Douglass
The story of Frederick Douglass, once a slave, who became a prominent figure and spokesperson in the fight against slavery in the 1800s.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: African American Abolitionists
Read about three African-American abolitionists who worked alone and in concert with white abolitionists. The most radical was David Walker, who was the founder of radical abolitionism.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: William Lloyd Garrison and the Liberator
Read a good biography of William Lloyd Garrison, who was one of the new, radical abolitionists who thought slavery was absolutely immoral and should be ended immediately. He was the publisher of the abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator....