abolitionism

[ab-uh-lish-uh-niz-uhm]

noun

1. the principle or policy of abolition, especially ending slavery as an institution in the U.S. and emancipating African Americans.

abolitionism

1. The belief that slavery should be abolished. In the early nineteenth century, increasing numbers of people in the northern United States held that the nation's slaves should be freed immediately, without compensation to slave owners. John Brown, Frederick W. Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman were well-known abolitionists.

Abolitionism in the United States was an important factor leading to the Civil War.

Word History and Origins

Origin of abolitionism¹

First recorded in 1800–10; abolition + -ism

Example Sentences

Writes Mr. Kurlansky: “Brown, the onetime pariah of abolitionism, was becoming its leading symbol.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Kenneth, who is the great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Douglass, added "We taught the students today that Frederick wasn't much older than they are now when he started his career in abolitionism and activism."

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It’s the same impulse that supported 19th century abolitionism and reconstruction after the Civil War.

Read more on Salon

As Dorothy Roberts writes in her book “Torn Apart,” you eventually come around to abolitionism because this system can’t be fixed.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It persuaded her to devote herself to abolitionism.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• autonomy 
• citizenship 
• democracy 
• emancipation 
• exemption 
• immunity 
• liberation 
• privilege 
• release 
• relief 
• self-determination 
• self-government 
• sovereignty