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Article: Antislavery
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ANTISLAVERY
ANTISLAVERY
sentiment and activity in the United States took several forms during its evolution from the quiet protest of the Germantown Quakers in 1688 through the tragic and violent American Civil War, which spawned the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Response to slavery varied from adamant defense to mild doubts to militant hostility. The antislavery movement was a crucible for the white conscience in matters of race, because nearly all slaves in the United States were black. As a consequence, different elements within the society perceived the problem of slavery in radically different ways and proposed sometimes contradictory solutions.
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