The religious diversity existed in the United States from the foundation of the colonies. The religious diversity led to different interpretation of Christianity. The quakers were one of the first groups to condemn slavery. The great-grandfather of Pauli Murray, Thomas Fitzgerald was raised by quakers and he was released from slavery in 1832 (Murray 60). The question of slavery created divisions among churches. The baptist church was split to two different denomination. The 2nd Great Awakening movement strengthen the concept of religious brotherhood and some white northerners started to view African American slaves as fellow christians. At the same time, southerners argued that slavery in biblically sanctioned, therefore, it could not be immoral.The northern states gradually moved toward abolition of slavery starting from Vermont in 1777. In 1831, the Liberator, an anti-slavery newspaper was founded by William Lloyd Garrison. In the beginning, Garrison faced criticism in both north and south, but when Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published by Harriet Beecher Stowe, it became the best seller in the US. It helped white northerners to understand slavery. The new institution such as public schools and raising middle class fueled the anti-slavery movement. Robert Fitzgerald absorbed influences in African schools which were “natural training ground for abolitionism” (Murray 81). The struggle of emancipation became strongly influenced the northern cultures. Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass became prominent cultural figure who agitated the conscience of northerners. Due to the economic interest from slavery, most southerners rejected these new ideas of freedom. They became increasingly afraid of
The religious diversity existed in the United States from the foundation of the colonies. The religious diversity led to different interpretation of Christianity. The quakers were one of the first groups to condemn slavery. The great-grandfather of Pauli Murray, Thomas Fitzgerald was raised by quakers and he was released from slavery in 1832 (Murray 60). The question of slavery created divisions among churches. The baptist church was split to two different denomination. The 2nd Great Awakening movement strengthen the concept of religious brotherhood and some white northerners started to view African American slaves as fellow christians. At the same time, southerners argued that slavery in biblically sanctioned, therefore, it could not be immoral.The northern states gradually moved toward abolition of slavery starting from Vermont in 1777. In 1831, the Liberator, an anti-slavery newspaper was founded by William Lloyd Garrison. In the beginning, Garrison faced criticism in both north and south, but when Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published by Harriet Beecher Stowe, it became the best seller in the US. It helped white northerners to understand slavery. The new institution such as public schools and raising middle class fueled the anti-slavery movement. Robert Fitzgerald absorbed influences in African schools which were “natural training ground for abolitionism” (Murray 81). The struggle of emancipation became strongly influenced the northern cultures. Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass became prominent cultural figure who agitated the conscience of northerners. Due to the economic interest from slavery, most southerners rejected these new ideas of freedom. They became increasingly afraid of