antislavery

Sarah and Angelina Grimke were unapologetically anti-slavery and pro-women’s rights. Their convictions were driven by their faith in God, yet it got them booted from Quakerism, made their name a curse among their Southern peers, and even caused controversy among fellow abolitionists. 

The Grimke sisters made history, yet their names have largely been forgotten. Today, we introduce you to these unlikely abolitionists.

Find more information about our guests, more information on the Grimke sisters and a transcript with discussion questions on our episode page.

Give us a call and tell us what "conscientious objector" means to you: 215-278-9411.

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He was arrested in 1859 for his role in the Harpers Ferry raid – an event that set the stage for the American Civil War. He was convicted of treason, as well as for murder, and for instigating insurrection. We’re talking about American abolitionist John Brown, the first person executed for treason in the United States. 

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Frederick Douglass began his Statesman years by moving from Rochester, New York to "A" Street on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. after the Civil War in 1872.  Kenneth Morris, his great, great, great grandson talks about  the Douglass home on Cedar Hill in Anacostia where America's famous abolitionist lived with his family until his death.  The home is now under the National Park Service umbrella open to visit.  Douglass' son, Charles built a home for his father in Highland Beach near Annapolis, Maryland.  While his father never could enjoy the view looking across the Chesapeake Bay to Talbot County where he was born, the home can be visited by appointment.

Ken Morris descends from two great lines of African Americans: Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.  Through an organization begun by his mother, Nettie Washington Douglass, he endeavors to continue his families' legacies for bringing justice and education to all.  That organization is the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives.  

As he returned for the final congressional session of his term, Abraham Lincoln tried to lay the groundwork for the future of his party -- by proposing the abolition of slavery within the District of Columbia, and in using the patronage powers of the newly elected Whig president. But opposing forces, and Lincoln's underestimation of them, led to disappointment.