At the time of the American Revolution slavery existed throughout the new country. Massachusetts was the first state to abolish it by a court decision in 1783. By 1830 all northern states had abolished slavery. Most northerners did not care whether slavery existed or not. A small group of abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglas agitated for immediate abolition. They were joined by most of the northern intellectuals such as Emerson, Thoreau, Beecher, and Coffin. Others, including some southerners, favored gradual abolition.

The Missouri Compromise permitted Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Kansas as a free state. The Supreme Court later declared it unconstitutional. In the Dred Scott decision the Court ruled that all Blacks "had no rights that a white man was bound to respect," and could never become citizens. Thus no territory could prohibit slavery.

John Brown, a staunch anti-slavery activist, found that the Dred Scott decision was the last straw. His fights in Kansas and at Harper's Ferry helped precipitate the Civil War. Although few slaves helped his cause at the time, great fear coursed through the south with rumors of incipient slave revolts. His part in the coming war is still being debated.

Our speaker this month is Herb Selwyn of the West Valley Civil Warriors. He has been a practicing attorney for the last 50 years, having attended UCLA and USC Law School. He served in the Air Force from 1943 to 1946.

Please join as we learn about John Brown's legacy and the Abolitionist movement.

Janet Whaley
Program Chair

 

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