The Abolitionists Extended Preview
A preview for "The Abolitionists," premiering January 8, 15 & 22, 2013.
The Civil War Begins
In April 1861, the American Civil War began, reuniting abolitionists who had grown apart in recent years.
Two Abolitionists Unite
Abolitionist activists Angelina Grimke and Theodore Weld declared their love for one another and got married in 1838. Both a black and a white minister officiated and mixed-race guests intermingled freely. News of the event caused a stir in Philadelphia.
Triumph
The day after Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Garrison was met by 10,000 freed slaves outside the Charleston Citadel. They seized him joyfully and carried him on their shoulders around the square before proceeding a few blocks to Zion's Church, where a mass of humanity pressed in to every available spot.
Garrison Gets Attacked
On October 21, 1835, William Lloyd Garrison was headed to give an anti-slavery lecture at the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society. An anti-abolitionist mob dragged him out of hiding and threatened his life, but two burly men took pity on Garrison and he ended up spending the night in jail for his own protection.
Frederick Douglass Finds Freedom
After having escaped to New York, Frederick Douglass and his wife Anna moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts. Douglass did hard manual labor to provide for his family for three years before making a fateful trip to Nantucket.
Garrison Burns the Constitution
After fighting for the abolition of slavery for 25 years, William Lloyd Garrison believes the Republic had been corrupted from the start. In Massachusetts, he burns a copy of the constitution. "The Constitution of the United States of America is the source and parent of all the other atrocities: 'a covenant with death, and an agreement with Hell.'"
The Dred Scott Decision
In 1857, the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision had the potential to legalize slavery everywhere in the United States.
Failed Protests
In the Spring of 1854, fugitive slave Anthony Burns sat in Boston's city jail. Locals protesting for Burns' release turned violent before the U.S. President Franklin Pierce ordered hundreds of military troops to escort Burns to a ship waiting in the harbor. Though abolitionists were losing hope, they had shifted history.
Douglass and Garrison Meet
In September of 1838, Frederick Douglass traveled to Nantucket to hear the publisher of Boston's "The Liberator" abolitionist newspaper, William Lloyd Garrison, speak. After hearing Douglass tell his story, Garrison realized he had found the man he had been looking for. Garrison approached Douglass with a proposition.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
After moving to Brunswick, Maine, Harriet Beecher Stowe was deeply disturbed by the Fugitive Slave Act. In March 1852, Stowe's novel about the evils of slavery sold 10,000 copies in its first week. It is the most popular book and the most influential book in American history.
Garrison Closes The Liberator
After four decades and 1,803 issues, William Lloyd Garrison closed The Liberator after the 13th Amendment was added to the constitution. He could continue to fight for equal rights, dying in 1879 at age 73.
The Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation into effect January 1, 1863. Every slave in the South was then, thenceforward, and forever, free.
Abolitionist Allies Fall Out
After the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, the abolition of slavery takes on a new urgency for formerly enslaved people. Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison no longer see eye to eye, and they have a falling out. "Douglass has had that experience. Garrison is a white man in a white man's America."
One Slave Makes a Difference
George Latimer arrived in Boston in the fall of 1842, only to be thrown in jail at the request of a Virginia planter. Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison rallied other local abolitionists to call for Latimer's freedom. It worked, and within months Massachusetts passed the Personal Liberty Act, which would soon have nationwide ramifications.
Tragedy Leads to Inspiration
An 1849 Cholera outbreak in Cincinnati claims Harriet Beecher Stowe's beloved son Charlie. "I learned what a poor slave mother may feel when her child is torn away from her." Stowe would go on to write Uncle Tom's Cabin a few years later from her new home in Brunswick, Maine.
Lincoln Announces Freedom
On September 22nd, 1862, Lincoln promised to sign an Emancipation Proclamation on New Year's Day. "All persons," Lincoln wrote, "held as slaves within any State in rebellion shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." But abolitionists were unsure whether he would keep his promise.
Douglass Publishes "The North Star"
In Rochester, New York, the last stop on the Underground Railroad, Frederick Douglass published abolitionist newspaper "The North Star," naming it after the icon followed by so many escaping slaves on their quest to freedom.
A Powerful Partnership
In 1841 Frederick Douglass agreed to join forces with William Lloyd Garrison to advocate full time for the abolitionism of slavery. It is "an opportunity to strike a blow for the slaves who continue to suffer as we speak."
Brown Dominates His Trial
After surviving his failed siege of the armory at Harper's Ferry, John Brown goes on trial where he dominates the proceedings and the press. "You have the Northern establishment, every newspaper, saying this guy's a hero."
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