Equiano demonstrated that the use of the human narrative can awaken the sympathy of others, and he used his personal narrative to impress his views of abolition upon the British. Similarly, Prince Hall within Chapter two also carried the cause of abolition. Hall also advocated the continuing fight for abolition by providing hope to the African-Americans and slaves alike. Although he could only use words to motivate those in peril, the strength of his statements rests primarily in his ability to teach foundational skills to his brethren that could help them become skilled workers rather than limited by their education. Maria Stewart was another advocate of abolition; she not only fought for the doctrine of freedom for slaves, but also for the women's rights movement. All of these advocates used nonviolent means to attempt to sway the general public to turn against slavery as well as provide hope for slaves everywhere.
While some attempted to influence...
Nat Turner was the epitome of this philosophy; he staged the largest and bloodiest slave revolt of his era, and in turn sparked a controversy over the use of violence in securing abolitionary goals. The same can be said for David Walker's "Appeal," where he strongly advocated for any means necessary to accomplish the goals of abolition. For these two and many others, the use of traditional methods of dialogue is not enough in securing freedom for slaves. As the Civil War later attested, the only true way to eliminate the practice of slavery from a legal standpoint was violent conflict. This book and section aptly demonstrates the mindset and opinions of many slavery era advocates, it shows that despite the attempts by many to stop the inhumane way that African-Americans were treated, there was no true solution to…
