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Student Reading 12.9: Ohio’s Antislavery Society
In the mid 1800s, abolitionists in Ohio and other places in the United States
wanted to end slavery and began forming
antislavery societies. An antislavery society was
a group of people who wanted to abolish (end)
slavery. Abolitionists fought against laws that
favored slavery through speeches, newspaper
articles, and books. They also helped enslaved
(Photograph of an Anti-Slavery token. This
coin may have been exchanged among
members of antislavery groups. Courtesy
of Ohio Memory.)
people escape to freedom on the Underground
Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a system of “secret” routes used by
enslaved people to escape to freedom.
Ohio’s Abolitionists
In 1817, Quaker Charles Osborn started the first antislavery newspaper, The
Philanthropist, in Mount Pleasant, Ohio. Benjamin Lundy, a Quaker minister, also
(A portrait of Benjamin Lundy. Courtesy of
Ohio Pix.)
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Activity 12.9: Ohio’s Antislavery Society
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started a newspaper called The Genius of Universal Emancipation.
John Parker, a former slave, was a conductor on the Underground Railroad
in Ripley, Ohio, who helped more than 400 runaways escape. Conductors hid
runaway slaves and helped them get to their next station, or stop. Presbyterian
minister John Rankin and Levi Coffin opposed slavery for religious reasons. John
Brown, an active Underground Railroad conductor, helped runaway slaves to
freedom near his Hudson, Ohio, home.
Ohio Senators Salmon P. Chase and
Benjamin Wade spoke against slavery in the
United States Congress. Harriet Beecher
Stowe spoke against slavery and in 1852,
while living in Cincinnati, experienced the
horrors of slavery firsthand. While living with
her husband, Calvin Stowe, in Brunswick,
Maine, she published the novel Uncle Tom’s
(Photographic reproduction of a copper
engraved portrait of Levi Coffin (1798-1877).
Courtesy of Ohio Pix.)
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Activity 12.9: Ohio’s Antislavery Society
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Cabin. The book convinced many Americans
that slavery was wrong. Students at Oberlin
College and Lane Seminary in Cincinnati also
worked to end slavery.
The Oberlin Rescuers
In 1835, the Oberlin Anti-Slavery
Society formed in Oberlin, Ohio, to help
(Photographic reproduction of an engraved
portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Courtesy of
Ohio Memory.)
fugitive slaves escape to freedom on the
Underground Railroad and work for the end of
slavery. A fugitive slave was a runaway who had escaped from a slave state. The
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required the government to help slave owners
recapture runaway slaves. Anyone caught helping a runaway slave could be
arrested or fined.
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Activity 12.9: Ohio’s Antislavery Society
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On September 13, 1858, a federal marshal in Oberlin, Ohio, arrested John
Price, a runaway slave from Kentucky. The marshal took Price to a hotel in the
nearby town of Wellington to avoid conflict with the abolitionists in town.
Abolitionists from Oberlin and Wellington gathered together and tried to free
Price. After peaceful discussions failed, the crowd stormed the hotel and found
Price in the attic. The group hid Price in the home of Oberlin College’s president
and then arranged Price’s journey to freedom in Canada. This event became
known as the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue.
(The Oberlin Wellington Rescuers at the Cuyahoga County Jail in April 1859. Courtesy of Ohio Pix.)
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Activity 12.9: Ohio’s Antislavery Society
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A federal grand jury charged 37 of the people who assisted Price. State
officials responded by arresting the federal marshal, his deputies, and others
involved in capturing Price. Two court cases began while the other rescuers
remained in jail for refusing to post bond. These court cases became known as the
Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Case. The federal court found Simeon Bushnell and
Charles Langston guilty in April of 1859. Bushnell received a sentence of 60 days in
jail, and Langston was punished with 20 days. State and federal officials reached
an agreement that the marshal and his deputies would be released and not
charged with a crime if the remaining 35 rescuers were also released. The
rescuers were released on July 7, 1859.
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Activity 12.9: Ohio’s Antislavery Society
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Reading Comprehension Questions
1. Define antislavery society.
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2. How did Ohio abolitionists fight against slavery?
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3. Explain what happened during the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue.
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Activity 12.9: Ohio’s Antislavery Society