In chapter eight of the course book, it is evident that the two groups, which were against slavery had significant differences in how they wanted the slaves to be freed. As it is evident, one group comprised of the white abolitionists, particularly from the north and black abolitionists both from the south and the north. On a keen analysis, the most prominent factor that caused the differences between the two groups of abolitionists was the question of race. Perhaps the question that bothered the white abolitionists was what was to become of the freed slaves.
David Walker was certainly a key figure in the protest against slavery. Although his father had been a slave, he was not subjected to slavery himself. However, he lived in the south for a significant part of his life and had witnessed the oppression the African Americans were going through. In fact, according to his biography, he migrated to the north because he could no longer bear with what he was witnessing 1 . Although Walker was a staunch Christian, he was of the view that the liberation of slaves needed a radical approach. He was also of the idea that slaves needed to form a resistance to get their freedom. Walker’s strategies initially began to work but were later thwarted by the enforcement of harsher rules and penalties in the south. In fact, a majority of key African-American abolitionists were executed.
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Evidently as the course text states, the white abolitionists would not consent to Walker’s strategies. The white abolitionists preferred a gradual process of releasing the slaves. The white abolitionists were afraid that the immediate release of the slaves would threaten the economy of the south in particular and of the country in general. The activities and strategy of the white abolitionists suggested that the question of race stood above all factors. The whites thought that they had an obligation to protect people of the same racial backgrounds as theirs. It is also evident in the way the American Colonization Society (ACS) came up with proposals. For instance, they proposed that the freed slaves had to be banished from America 2 . They were against the concept of slavery alright but wanted the African-American slaves to be taken back to their ancestral homes. It is the reason why Sierra Leone and Liberia were established in Africa to absorb the slaves. Additionally, some slaves were shipped to Caribbean countries such as Haiti. That means that even if most of the African-Americans had been born in America, they were unwanted. Such motives demonstrate that the white abolitionists were not genuine in opposing slavery but rather, were operating in disguise to get rid of the African-American population.
Nevertheless, there are several people who would have agreed with Walker’s antislavery strategies. The first group of people is Gabriel, Vesey, and Gullah Jack. These three abolitionists were inspired by the French Revolution in Haiti and conspired to cause an antislavery revolt in America 3 . Although all of them were executed, they tried in essence to implement Walker’s strategy. Maria Stewart, a prominent abolitionist from the women antislavery movement seemed to have been influenced by Walker’s radical sentiments. She was even more vocal than most of the African-American men who shut her down simply because she was a woman. William Garrison, although a white abolitionist, seems to have echoed Walker’s sentiments. He opposed the gradual emancipation of slaves and called for their immediate emancipation. He also criticized how ACS was trying to expel African-Americans to their ancestral lands yet they had been born in America. He wanted the slaves to be given their freedom unconditionally and allowed to thrive in America just like everybody else.
Bibliography
Biography. David Walker, 1785-1830 . 2018. Docsouth.Unc.Edu . Accessed August 8 2018. https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/walker/bio.html .
Hine, Darlene Clark, William C. Hine, and Stanley Harrold. The African-American Odyssey: Combined Volume . Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
1 Biography. David Walker, 1785-1830 . 2018. Docsouth.Unc.Edu . Accessed August 8 2018. https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/walker/bio.html .
2 Hine, Darlene Clark, William C. Hine, and Stanley Harrold. The African-American Odyssey: Combined Volume . Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
3 Hine, Darlene Clark, William C. Hine, and Stanley Harrold. The African-American Odyssey: Combined Volume . Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
