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For most of human history, slavery was accepted as part of the natural order. But in the second half of the 18th century things began to change. The spread of Enlightenment thought, the capitalist market revolution, political revolutions in the United States and France and the evolution of Christianity toward a new ethic of individual redemption helped sow the fertile beds from which condemnations of slavery¡ªand calls for its abolition¡ªbegan to grow.
A vigorous and militant abolitionist movement in the US was one result of these developments, and its influence on the public debate over slavery and its future was immense. Abolitionism caused a huge stir, as it called for the young American nation to live up to the high ideals expressed in its Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
Early Abolitionism: The Pennsylvania Abolition Society
In 18th century America the Quakers were responsible for much of the anti-slavery activism. This pacifist Christian sect saw slavery as an abomination and actively campaigned against it on both sides of the Atlantic. While the Quakers fought slavery throughout the colonies, both pre- and post-revolution, their efforts had the biggest effect in the state of Pennsylvania.
In 1784 Quakers were instrumental in the founding of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. The fight against abolition was not confined to one state, as other influential groups like the New York Manumission Society also made an impact. But it was the PAS that lead the abolitionist cause in the early national period, setting widely imitated standards for tactics and practices. While not exclusively Quaker (non-Quaker Benjamin Franklin was the PAS¡¯s first president), more than three-quarters of the PAS¡¯s most active members during the first 25 years of its existence were members of this religious sect.
The PAS was an elitist organization. Philanthropists, politicians, businessmen and prominent lawyers filled its membership rolls. It sought the gradual abolition of slavery through legal challenge and legislative change. Inspired by Enlightenment idealism, but conservative in its respect for rules and structure, the PAS based their anti-slavery legal challenges on laws that were already on the books.
Within Pennsylvania¡¯s borders, the first abolition law was passed in 1780. In fact, every state legislature enacted laws in the post-revolutionary period that dealt with slavery, addressing issues related to emancipation, the return of fugitive slaves and the constitutional and legal rights of slaves and free blacks alike. |
