Vocabulary
Abolition
Emancipation
Antebellum
Gag Rule
Take a shot @
it!
1. The time period before the Civil War was
known as the _________________ period.
2. In the 1800s, more and more whites began to
support _______________, or the movement
to end slavery.
3. In 1836, Southern representatives got
Congress to adopt a ____________ in order to
limit debate on slavery.
4. William Lloyd Garrison called for immediate
_________________, or freeing of the slaves.
Write down your answers on a sheet of paper, you do not have to
write the sentence 
Abolitionist Movement
How did
slavery
become a
significant
issue in
American
politics?
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
•Nat Turner was a slave born in Virginia in
1800. He was a gifted preacher and came
to believe that he had been chosen to
lead his people out of slavery.
•In 1831, Turner thought a solar eclipse
was a sign from God and led 80 followers
on a slave revolt. They attacked four
plantations and killed almost 60 white
people before being captured.
• Turner was
eventually
captured,
tried, and
hanged.
• In retaliation,
whites killed
as many as
200 blacks –
many of them
were not
involved with
the slave
revolt.
Nat Turner’s
Rebellion
Effects of Turner’s Rebellion
• Strengthened the resolve of Southern whites to
defend slavery and control their slaves
• Some people argued that the only way to
prevent further slave revolts was to free the
slaves
• Many slave owners pushed state legislatures to
pass the Slave Codes, which placed even more
restrictions on African-Americans, free and
enslaved.
Stop and Think!
So, how did Nat Turner’s rebellion
contribute to the rise of
abolitionism?
• The violence of Turner’s rebellion
caused many people in the North and
some in the South to think that the
only way to prevent this from
happening again was to abolish
slavery.
• The death of so many white people
by slaves was a huge story
nationwide, and so the rebellion
brought attention to the issue of
slavery.
William Lloyd Garrison
(1801-1879)
 Publisher of The
Liberator, a newspaper
dedicated to the
abolitionist movement
 He wanted immediate
emancipation
with NO compensation.
 He thought that slavery
was a moral, not
an economic issue.
 Founded the American
Anti-Slavery Society
The Liberator
Premiere issue  January 1, 1831
R2-5
How did William Lloyd Garrison
contribute to the rise of
abolitionism?
• His newspaper, The Liberator, was read
by many and inspired people to join the
abolitionist movement
• Stories spread that Nat Turner was
inspired by what he read in The
Liberator, and drew even more
attention to Garrison and his cause
The Tree of Slavery—Loaded with the Sum of
All Villanies!
Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)
R2-12
Frederick Douglass
• Born a slave in 1817, his master’s wife
taught him how to read
• He escaped and ran away to the North
• He was inspired by what he read in The
Liberator, and Garrison heard his story
and got him to speak before the American
Anti-Slavery Society
• He eventually began his own newspaper,
The North Star in 1847
Frederick Douglass
• He was a very intelligent and well-spoken
former slave who could recount the
horrors and degradation of slavery
• He started his own abolitionist newspaper,
The North Star
• He was a public speaker and gave
lectures about his own experiences
• In 1845 he wrote The Narrative of the Life
of Frederick Douglass
What did Frederick Douglass
contribute to the rise of
abolitionism?
• Angelina and Sarah Grimke
were daughters of a South
Carolina slaveholder.
• Both women worked as
abolitionists and called on other
women to oppose slavery as
their Christian duty
• In 1836, Angelina Grimke
published An Appeal to the
Christian Women of the South.
She called on women to help
overthrow the system of slavery.
The Grimke
Sisters
How did Angelina and Sarah
Grimke contribute to the rise of
abolitionism?
• Specifically spoke to women and called
women to act as abolitionists
• It was important that they grew up on a
plantation and their father was a slave
owner, because they saw first hand the
corruption of slavery. This is why they
became abolitionists. This is also why
many people were interested in what they
had to say.
Slavery as a Political Issue
• The abolitionist movement
caused tension between the
North and South, but slavery
had been an issue since the
nation began.
• As the mid-western and
northern states grew
economically and in
population, slavery became
an increasingly divisive issue
over issues like nullification
and political representation.
How did slavery become a
significant issue in American
politics?
• In your group, discuss today’s essential
question and use your notes to come up
with a response in paragraph form
(minimum of 5 sentences). Your response
must be thorough and in complete
sentences. There are many things that
gave rise to abolitionism, so if you only
have one or two example your answer is
not complete. Everyone needs to turn one
in to receive credit.