Abolitionists Working Together
Grade Levels: 9 - 12
Objectives
- Students will learn about some of the women in the abolitionist movement.
- Students will write from the point of view of the women abolitionists.
Materials
- Women Abolitionists Poem and Speech handout.
- An Abolitionist Play handout
Procedures
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Share the following information with your students.
During the nineteenth century, many free African American women and European American women were part of the abolitionist movement; they wrote articles, gave speeches (at a time when most people viewed these activities as "radical" for women!), hid African Americans on the Underground Railroad, and raised money for African American schools and communities. Three female abolitionist organizations (in Salem, Boston, and Philadelphia, were biracial; European American and African American women worked together on the abolition movement projects. The rest of the abolitionist organizations were not biracial. Many African American women worked hard to change the attitude of European American women who, though sympathetic and involved in the abolitionist movement, would not accept fellow membership with African American women.
- Distribute the Women Abolitionists Poem and Speech handout.
- Distribute the An Abolitionist Play handout.
Excerpted from Multicultural Activities for the American History Classroom.
