The American Colonization Society

In 1830, The Liberator was established by William Lloyd Garrison, he was an abolitionist and a member of the American Colonization Society. On the discussion of slavery, majority of the members thought a solution for the slaves to move back to west Africa would be ideal. However, Garrison had advocated for the urgent end to slavery and to encourage rights and freedom for all slaves in the United States. As a result, he had detached himself from the American Colonization Society and started his own newspaper named, The Liberator.

His strong and meaningful words had indicated to the northerners to the autocracy that was slavery. Argument: this opposition to slavery had stimulated many abolitionists in the north, however there was rarely any outcome for getting the south to get on board with abolishing slavery. The imbalance of power between races was injustice, Garrison had deliberately expressed this in his newspaper along with writing referring to the slave rebellions being taken place and the acts being passed by Congress.

The Liberator had went in opposition to slavery and against the white superiority over African Americans. In 1831, an African American slave, Nat Turner, had led a slave uprising that had killed more than a handful of people whom were white. This slave rebellion would’ve most likely been supported by The Liberator, considering it would have made an acceptable headline. Nat Turner was influenced by Garrison’s newspaper The Liberator, therefore it made him stand up for his freedom and many others joined him.

In 1831, an African American slave, Nat Turner had lead a slave uprising in the south against the white southerners. He acted with violence, along with the other slaves that joined him, in this insurgency. He, and other slaves who joined him, had killed a white family, along with possibly 50 or more people. Turner had attempted hiding for a period of time but was caught and was hanged for his guilty actions. Turner had hoped for the acts of abolitionists to push through to abolish slavery, but instead his actions had lead to even more harsh slave codes. Results of the Nat Turner rebellion only furthered more arguments between the north and south.

The increase of harsher laws on slaves was brought upon the actions from Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831. An act passed by the government was the Fugitive Slave Act. This fugitive slave law had alerted anyone who had encountered with an escaped slave and assisted them would go through cruel punishment. The southerners were frightened for anymore future attacks and wanted to prevent it, as a result the Fugitive Slave Act prevented any slave to run away or attack.

The Fugitive Slave Act, or also known as the Compromise of 1850, was issued by the government. This law was to enforce the capture and return of runaway slaves. The runaway slaves would have to be given back to their owner, but if not accomplished then the supposed slavehunter would be tried for going against the law and risk punishment. This new law had not only impacted the African Americans who were already slaves but those who were considered free. Many freed slaves in the north were captured and sold back into slavery. The right to a speedy trial was not given to the captured African Americans, regardless if it was a free slave state or not.

Shortly after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, a slave, Dred Scott was brought from his free state to Missouri, which was a slave state, because of the fugitive slave law. He had lived with his slave-owner in a free slave state, and he had argued in court that he should be considered a free man since he was in a free slave state.