“The Abolitionist Movement from the American Revolution to the Civil War” is a four-week school teacher seminar for sixteen participants to examine the abolitionist movement from the time of the American Revolution to the aftermath of the Civil War. Project director Richard Newman (history, Rochester Institute of Technology) investigates the struggle to end slavery by looking at the development of American abolitionism. During the first week, the seminar covers moderate strategies for gradual emancipation in the years following the American Revolution. The second week looks at the role of African-American abolitionists. The third week deals with the radicalization of abolitionism in the decades before the Civil War, the rise of abolitionist political parties, debates over the uses of violence, and the expanding participation of women reformers. The fourth week investigates the role of abolitionists during the Civil War era, including Emancipation in the South, struggles for racial justice in the North, and precedents for the modern Civil Rights Movement. The program includes seminar sessions, primary source discussions, site visits in Philadelphia and Gettysburg, and teacher presentations on specific historical sources. The readings include a large list of primary sources, including documents housed at the Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) and the neighboring Historical Society of Pennsylvania, as well as writings by leading historians. Four outside historians visit the seminar: Christopher Brown (Columbia University), Scott Hancock (Gettysburg College), Stacey Robertson (Bradley University), and James Stewart (Macalester College).
