abolitionists: Evangelical Influences

Antislavery sentiment had existed before and during the American Revolution. Philadelphia Quakers founded the world's first antislavery society in 1775, Vermont outlawed slavery in 1777, and abolitionist Benjamin Lundy began his work early in the 19th cent. However, the abolition movement did not reach crusading proportions until the 1830s. One of its mainsprings was the growing influence of evangelical religion, with its religious fervor, its moral urgency to end sinful practices, and its vision of human perfection. The preaching of Lyman Beecher and Nathaniel Taylor in New England and the religious revivals that began in W New York state in 1824 under Charles G. Finney and swept much of the North, created a powerful impulse toward social reform—emancipation of the slaves as well as temperance, foreign missions, and women's rights. Outstanding among Charles Finney's converts were Theodore D. Weld and the brothers Arthur Tappan and Lewis Tappan.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Antislavery Movement
• Evangelical Influences
• Bibliography

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