Category Archives: Slavery and Abolitionist Movement (1790-1860)

The abolitionist movement was an organized effort to end the practice of slavery, and a divisive political issue in the U.S. Some of the movement’s most prominent leaders were Black men and women who had escaped from bondage. Abolitionists sent petitions to Congress, ran for political office and produced anti-slavery literature. Some historians distinguish anti-slavery efforts as a more moderate and gradual approach to abolitionism.