Myth #2

Slavery was a long time ago.

Slavery started in the United States in 1619 and ended in 1865.

The Movement to End Slavery

​Some Americans had opposed slavery since before the country was founded. Benjamin Franklin was the president of the first antislavery society in America, the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. In the 1830s Americans took more organized action to support abolition, or a complete end to slavery. Many abolitionists worked tirelessly to end slavery.

​Religious leaders gave speeches and published pamphlets that moved many Americans to support abolition. In one of these, abolitionist Theodore Weld wrote that “everyman knows that slavery is a curse.” Other abolitionists referred to the Declaration of Independence. They reminded people that the American Revolution had been fought in the name of liberty.

​Antislavery reformers did not always agree on the details, however. They differed over how much equality they thought African Americans should have. Some believed that African Americans should receive the same treatment as white Americans. In contrast, other abolitionists were against full political and social equality.