Slavery has been a major issue in United States history. The mistreatment of enslaved people has been a blight on this nation since its inception. The Middle Passage to the slave auctions and the general brutality in which enslaved people face is beyond horrific. Thankfully, there were some who began a push to abolish slavery in this country. Abolitionists fought in a variety of ways to end this brutal practice and create a more equal and just society. While there were ways in which the efforts to abolish slavery were successful, there were other ways in which those efforts were unsuccessful.

Some of the efforts to abolish slavery were successful. In document 1b, there are numerous states in the Northern portion of the United States that decided …show more content…
(Doc 1B) Document 4, shows another mostly successful effort in the abolition of slavery. The document demonstrates how during the Civil War many enslaved people were able to escape to the North and were freed. Some even decided to join the Union soldiers in the fight against the Confederacy. The Civil War provided enslaved people with an opportunity to emancipate themselves and use the war to their advantage to escape their horrible treatment on Southern plantations. (Doc 4) Document 5 demonstrates another major victory in the abolitionist movement. President Abraham Lincoln on New Years Day 1863 issued the Emancipation Proclamation which stated that every enslaved person in the United States would be freed. This was a turning point in US history. Lincoln was never a true abolitionist and had always prioritized saving the Union before focusing on the issue of slavery, but he clearly had a change of heart during the Civil War. This document now stated that once this war was over, slavery would be abolished in the country. Of course this meant a lot of fighting still needed to take place and the North needed to win the Civil War, but it radically moved forward the process of ending slavery. Doc 5: Lastly, Document 6