Road to Freedom

An illustration of the fight to freedom

The Amistad Uprising

In 1839, a group of Africans who had been kidnapped in West Africa took control of the slave ship Amistad. Led by Joseph Cinqué, they attempted to return home, but the ship was secretly steered north instead.

Their capture led to a major legal battle that eventually reached the Supreme Court. With former President John Quincy Adams helping defend them, the Court ruled that the Africans were free.

The case exposed the brutality of the slave trade, strengthened the abolitionist movement, and showed how determined people could resist oppression.

An illustration of the Africans taking control of the slave ship

The American Anti-Slavery Society

Members of the Anti-Slavery society

    Founded on December 4, 1833, the American Anti-    Slavery Society demanded the immediate end of slavery.

    Through speeches, newspapers, pamphlets, and     petitions, the organization spread its message across     the country. By 1840, it had roughly 2,000 affiliated     groups and as many as 250,000 members.

    Leaders such as Frederick Douglass helped make     slavery a national issue that many Americans could no     longer ignore. Despite facing harassment and internal disagreements, the organization played a major role in building support for abolition.

Seneca Falls

In July 1848, around 300 people gathered at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, for the first organized women's rights convention.

A photograph of the women who attended the first women's rights convention

The attendees approved most of the twelve resolutions presented and adopted the Declaration of Sentiments. While best known for advocating women's suffrage, the convention addressed a broader range of rights and opportunities for women.

Its message reflected a growing belief that freedom and equality should apply more widely across American society.

The Fugitive Slave Act and Uncle Tom's Cabin

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made slavery a personal issue for Americans across the country. Citizens could be forced to assist in capturing escaped enslaved people, while accused individuals could be returned to slavery without a trial.

Two years later, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin brought the reality of slavery into millions of homes. By telling stories of families, cruelty, and survival, the novel converted many undecided readers into opponents of slavery.

Together, the law and the book intensified national tensions.

Illustration of a man capturing a runaway slave

Bleeding Kansas and John Brown

Art depicting the fight of Bleeding Kansas

    The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 allowed settlers to     decide whether Kansas would permit slavery. Instead     of solving the issue, it sparked years of violence     known as "Bleeding Kansas."

    Pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups clashed     repeatedly, proving that popular sovereignty could not     settle the nation's most divisive question.

    One of the most radical figures during this period was     John Brown, who believed slavery could only be     defeated through direct action. His 1859 raid on the     federal armory at Harpers Ferry failed, but it shocked     the nation and convinced many Southerners that     conflict was unavoidable.

Secession and the First Shots of War

After Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election, Southern leaders viewed his opposition to the expansion of slavery as a threat.

South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860, and other Southern states soon followed.

Photo of modern-day Fort Sumter

The crisis finally exploded on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The next day, Union forces surrendered the fort.

The Civil War had begun.

Looking Beyond the Civil War

The struggle for freedom did not end when the war began or even when it ended. Decades later, Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute, founded in Alabama in 1881, became a powerful symbol of education, opportunity, and self-reliance for African Americans. Its success demonstrated how the fight for equality continued long after emancipation.

The road to the Civil War was shaped by ordinary people, activists, writers, reformers, and revolutionaries. Each event added pressure to an already divided nation until the conflict could no longer be avoided.

AI DISCLOSURE: AI was used in this assignment. I took notes during other students' presentations regarding the topics. I then sent these notes to AI and asked it to make a blog post in a non-academic form of writing with the word minimum being 400 - 500. I asked it to make the length of the script exactly 3 minutes and embed links within the post. I then used CoPilot AI to help me clean up the text for grammar, spelling and punctuation. I then edited the text, added links, and added images and captions.

Sarah Parker Remond

 

This is a photo of Sarah Parker Remond

Good evening, friends and neighbors.

This is an illustration of Sarah Parker Remond

My name is Sarah Parker Remond, and I come before you not only as an abolitionist, but as a woman who has witnessed the cruelty of prejudice and the injustice of slavery throughout my life. I was born a free Black woman in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1826. Yet although I was free, I learned at a young age that freedom means little when society denies people their rights because of the color of their skin. My family and I faced discrimination in schools and in public places, despite being law-abiding citizens and committed members of our community.

As a young woman, I became active in the anti-slavery movement. I spoke publicly against slavery when many believed women, especially Black women, should remain silent. My family devoted itself to the cause of abolition, and I joined organizations dedicated to ending this great moral evil.

I ask you tonight: by what principle can slavery be defended? Can any person claim that human beings are property? Can any Christian nation justify separating husbands from wives, parents from children, and denying men and women the fruits of their own labor? Slavery robs people not only of liberty but also of dignity, education, opportunity, and hope.

The Boston Theater that Remond was removed from in 1853

Some say slavery is necessary for prosperity. I say no prosperity built upon stolen labor can be honorable. Others say it is sanctioned by tradition. I say that a wrong does not become right simply because it has existed for a long time. The true measure of a society is whether it recognizes the humanity of all people.

In 1853, I was forcibly removed from a Boston theater because I refused to sit in segregated seating. I brought my case before the courts and won. That experience taught me that injustice must be challenged wherever it appears. 

A report on one of Remond's Lecture

I have traveled and lectured in America and abroad, urging people to support the abolition of slavery. Everywhere I go, I find men and women of conscience who understand that freedom is not a privilege reserved for a few but a right granted to all humanity.

Therefore, I call upon each of you to reject slavery without compromise. Let us stand for justice over convenience, principle over prejudice, and liberty over oppression. Let future generations say that when confronted with a great moral wrong, we did not remain silent. We spoke, we acted, and we helped bring freedom to those who had been denied it for far too long.

Thank you.

AI DISCLOSURE: AI was used in this assignment. I input a text summarizing the assignment and asked AI to create a script in the point of view of Sarah Parker Remond. I asked it to make the length of the script exactly 3 minutes and embed links within the script. I made sure only high-quality sources were used. I then used CoPilot AI to help me clean up the text for grammar, spelling and punctuation. I then edited the text, added links, and added images and captions.

State v. Mann Law Stance

    State v. Mann is one of those cases that forces you to confront how far the law once strayed from basic humanity. In 1829 North Carolina, John Mann shot an enslaved woman named Lydia in the back after she tried to escape his punishment. And the court ruled in his favor.

    To understand why, you have to look at how the law defined people at the time. Ensla
ved individuals weren’t considered legal persons. They were considered property. That meant they didn’t have the legal standing required to be victims of assault. It’s disturbing, but it’s exactly how the law was written.

    The State had to prove Mann assaulted a human being. But under North Carolina law, Lydia wasn’t legally recognized as one. She was classified as inhumane — not capable of the rights or protections free citizens had. And that legal definition shaped everything that happened in the courtroom.

    Assault also requires fear. The victim must experience it. But if the law says enslaved people are property, then the courts argued they couldn’t legally feel fear. Property can’t experience emotion. And without fear, the legal definition of assault collapses. That’s the logic the court used.

    When Mann hired Lydia, he didn’t just hire her labor. He inherited full authority over her as property. That meant discipline, control, and the right — under the law — to enforce obedience. The courts believed that if this authority wasn’t absolute, the entire system of slavery would fall apart. Property rights were treated as more important than human rights.

    So when Lydia ran, Mann claimed he was protecting the property he was responsible for. The court agreed. They said that punishing a hirer for disciplining a slave would weaken the owner’s rights too. Divided authority meant unstable authority. And unstable authority threatened slavery itself.

    The ruling didn’t say Mann was morally right. It said he was legally protected. That distinction
matters. It shows how law can uphold systems that harm people, even when those systems contradict basic human dignity. It’s a reminder that legality and justice are not the same thing.

AI DISCLOSURE: AI was used in a limited way in this assignment. I summarized the State v. Mann case and noted the assignment was to take the stance of a lawyer defending John Mann in the defense of law. I then added my own notes and arguments for the case. I then used CoPilot AI to help me clean up the text for grammar, spelling and punctuation. I also asked the tool to help me shape it into the form of a blog post. I then edited the text, added links, and added images and captions.

Eight Values

   

    The value I believe to be the most important of the eight values of free expression is protection dissent. This value means that the First Amendment protects all views, including unpopular ones that stem from minority views. This value also promotes the right to be able to disagree with the government and others. We are even called to do so as citizens of the United States of America. The reason why this value resonates with me personally is because I strongly believe in hearing everyone's thoughts and opinions, even if I do not agree with them. We can gain a lot of knowledge by listening to all points of views, whether that be political, religious, or personal views. That does not necessarily mean we have to agree and all come to a common consensus about a view, but it can help us better understand it on a broader perspective.

    

This value is also one of the values I see in action today, mostly on social media. On social media, we are all freely able to express our beliefs and opinions without any consequences from the government. People may verbally attack one another based on their views, but this is also protected by the First Amendment. We are all able to criticize and point out flaws in each other's views. A specific example of this value being practiced is the discussion of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, most commonly known and referred to as ICE. America is divided on the subject of ICE. Many people protest against ICE and believe they are harming innocent lives as well as tearing families apart. A case that supports this argument is the father in Johnson County being deported while taking care of his two kids. He arrived in America when he was only 1 and has lived here ever since. He started a family and had a job. But ICE destroyed that and took him away from the life he once knew. On the other hand, others support it and believe they are helping our country become a better place. Two years ago, Americans took part of a poll questioning their stances on immigration. Majority of Americans wanted immigration rates to decrease. This stems from fear of terrorist attacks after experiencing them such as 9/11. 

Slavery in the Bible

Pro-Slavery

    The Christian Bible has multiple passages that state why it is for slavery. One of these passages from the book of Ephesians. It says, “slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear
, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ” (Ephesians 6: 5). This line explains how slaves are to obey and do everything their master tells them to do. They compare slave masters to Christ, which shows how they viewed the slave masters as good human beings. Another example is from 1 Peter. “Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh” (1 Peter 2: 18). The Bible addresses the slaves again and commands them to submit to their masters, even if they are harsh and cruel. A passage derived from the book of Titus also makes pro-slavery statements. “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2: 9 - 10). This verse addresses the slave owners this time. It tells them how they should treat their slaves. The Bible enforces strict behavior against the slaves and to treat them inhumanely.

Anti-Slavery

    Throughout the Christian bible, it is shown that God condemns slavery and many times took active steps to abolish it. In Galatians 5:1 it says “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” This line shows how Christ sets everyone free and no one should be tied down by another. Christ believes everyone is equal and deserves the same as another. Expanding on that same sentiment in two places of the bible “kidnapping and selling people into slavery is condemned and punished severely. These verses directly oppose the type of slave trade that fueled modern chattel slavery,” (Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7). These passages from the bibles show how forcing someone into slavery can be seen as a serious sin. Overall, the bible teaches one to love their neighbor and treat them with the utmost kindness and respect. This creates the idea that everyone is equal because everyone is created by god and has value. With christian beliefs you can argue that slavery is against those beliefs and that Christ does not agree with those ideals.