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Abolition: Abolition and the Mail
Reformers began working for the abolition of slavery in the earliest days of the American republic. By 1804 they had succeeded in the northern states and turned all their efforts to attacking slavery in the south and opposing its spread in the west. Postage rates decreased from the 1830s through the 1850s, allowing abolitionists to distribute literature cheaply via the post office. Many southerners regarded these mail campaigns as an attack, aided and abetted by the federal government.
The New Method of Sorting the Mail, As Practiced by Southern Slave-Holders, 1835
The Charleston, South Carolina post office was raided by a pro-slavery mob in July 1835. "U.S.M." on the mail bag at lower left stands for U.S. Mail, and the mob is burning bundles of abolitionist newspapers -- with the help of the city postmaster.
Liberia
While abolitionists wanted an immediate and unconditional end to slavery, the American Colonization Society (ACS) supported gradual emancipation combined with resettling freed slaves in Africa. This appealed to slave owners who feared rebellions; white farmers and laborers worried that free black labor would depress wages; religious leaders who wanted to missionize Africa; and those who believed freed slaves would never be treated fairly in America. The ACS founded the West African colony of Liberia in 1822 and resettled more than 13,000 freed American slaves there. |