The Abolitionists
There have always been people who were morally apposed to slavery. Those who organized to achieve emancipation for black slaves were called abolitionists. The abolitionist movement gained its strength in 1830 with William Lloyd Garrison’s campaign against slavery and belief that black people should be free and have the same rights as white people. In 1833 the American Anti-Slavery Society formed when the Philadelphia Quakers, the New England Garrisonians, the New York Reformers, and free Blacks came together with a mission to abolish slavery. The Abolitionists felt that the best way to reach Northerners was religious teaching through the clergy and church congregations. By 1838 the society had approximately 250,000 members. Many abolitionists aided escaped slaves through the Underground Railroad. Abolitionists were not welcome in the South especially by slave owners. If they aided in the escape of slaves and were caught, they were beaten or killed.

Slaves States

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Slavery
Slavery is one person owning another person as property. Southern slaves were forced to labor without pay and had no rights over themselves or their families. The first U.S. slave ship was built in Massachusetts in 1637 and sailed to developed civilizations in West Africa. Men, women, and children were captured and loaded by the thousands into the ship. They endured long and painful journeys to the shores of America. When they arrived, they were sold to white landowners during inhumane slave auctions. By 1829 it was no longer legal to capture Africans to bring over as slaves. During 200 years of capturing people by force into slavery, over 50 million Africans were taken from their homeland to live and work in the Americas and Europe. This practice came to an end with the Civil War (1861-1865), also known as the War Between the States.

The 3/5 Clause
When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he expressed the importance of autonomy and equality for all. People who were forced into slavery lived in a land based on freedom, but did not experience freedom themselves. When the Declaration was written, more than 500,000 slaves made up approximately one-fifth of the U.S. population. As their numbers increased, so did issues of states’ powers based on population. A large percentage of Southern States’ population were slaves and if they were counted as part of the official state population, it would increase the South’s political power. Northern states objected to the South counting slaves in their population because the slaves had no rights as citizens. A compromise was made where each slave would count as three-fifths of a person. This compromise increased the representation of the South in both the Congress and the Electoral College.