Document 11.1 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, On the Constitution and the Union (1832)
Document 11.2 ANGELINA GRIMKÉ, Appeal to the Christian Women of the South (1836)
Document 11.3 STEPHEN SYMONDS FOSTER, The Brotherhood of Thieves (1843)
Document 11.4 Liberty Party Platform (1844)
Document 11.5 FREDERICK DOUGLASS, Abolitionism and the Constitution (1851)
INTERPRET THE EVIDENCE
Why did William Lloyd Garrison characterize the Constitution as a proslavery document (Document 11.1)? What, according to Garrison, were the goals of the Constitution’s authors? How does he describe Northerners and Southerners?
What arguments does Angelina Grimké (Document 11.2) use to attempt to convince southern women that slavery is wrong? How does she characterize slaveholders? What makes this document an example of radical abolitionism?
What charges does Stephen Symonds Foster levy against the clergy (Document 11.3)? Why do you think this address aroused such passion among abolition supporters and opponents? How do Foster’s claims that churches are proslavery compare with Garrison’s claim that the Constitution is proslavery?
What were the demands of the Liberty Party in 1844 (Document 11.4)? How did the party invoke the Constitution to argue for abolition?
Why did Frederick Douglass adopt an antislavery interpretation of the Constitution (Document 11.5)? What does he mean by describing slavery as “a system of lawless violence”? How, according to Douglass, could Americans best fight slavery?
PUT IT IN CONTEXT
Which abolitionists do you think made the most compelling arguments, and why are these arguments so effective? Can you identify any middle ground where Garrisonians and political abolitionists could agree?
How did abolitionism resemble other reform movements of this era in its stance on politics versus moral suasion? How did it differ?
Thinking through Sources forExploring American Histories, Volume 1Printed Page 86