Three Abolitionists: David Walker, David Ruggles, Anthony Burns
1.During the mid-1830s African American abolitionists played a significant role that helped change America. In the lecture Kelly Hancock focuses on three major abolitionists being David Walker, David Ruggles, and Anthony Burns. Hancock informs us of the different ways the three abolitionists protested, defined slavery, the responses of whites, and the challenges they faced in their lifetimes. David Walker being a son of a free African American was a major advocate in abolition. He attended anti-slavery meetings and published his appeal that spread quickly. By doing so he sewed copies of his appeal on clothing that was given to sailors. David Ruggles agreed partially with Walkers appeal. Ruggles made a committee the “New York Vigilance” whose goal was to aid the fugitive slaves. He also sheltered the famous Frederick Douglas in the book shop he owned. Anthony Burns on the other hand was born into slavery, escaped to Boston, was captured, and his experience helped personalize the issue of slavery to northerners.
The speakers’ purpose of the lecture is to advise us of those abolitionists that have been forgotten or less mentioned in history due to their race yet played an important role in the movement. Hancock wants us to understand how Walker, Ruggles, and Anthony Burns worked independently and sometimes along with white abolitionists. In the lecture Kelly Hancock discusses the voices of abolition. The speaker gives us a clear picture of how powerful these men were and the impact it had on whites. The purpose of the lecture is to encourage the reader to acknowledge other important abolitionist in order to get a more precise understanding of history.
In class we viewed the newspaper cover, “The Liberator” one of the many William Lloyd Garrison published. The cover portrayed blacks grouped with animals. It also shows a picture of an enslaved man being whipped by a white person. In class we discussed how to Garrison saw moral persuasion as the only means to end slavery. To him the task was simple as to show people how immoral slavery was and they would join in the campaign to end it. We also discussed a picture that would have been inside a pamphlet. It demonstrates how Garrison imagines the future being. On one side it displays how everyone is vulnerable and families being separated. It gives the viewer a feeling of sadness. On the right side it shows us how the danger of breaking up families will disappear and the spread of religious faith will spread. Overall in class we came to a conclusion that in Garrisons eyes slavery was a sin.
In Class the question that came up were similarities and differences between the abolitionists and their strategies to end slavery. Another question we had as a class was why these abolitionist were seen as less important. As a class we drew the conclusion that because these three abolitionist were simply black was a reason why they were largely forgotten. Even today without this lecture I would have never known about these abolitionists.
In conclusion I am left wondering, what remarks did the abolitionists make about the conditions under which the slaves worked and lived? These abolitionist were against slavery but did they feel a certain way with those slaves who had kids from whites? Did he view them different?
