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abolitionism

[ ab-uh-lish-uh-niz-uhm ]
/ ˌæb əˈlɪʃ əˌnɪz əm /
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See synonyms for abolitionism on Thesaurus.com
noun
the principle or policy of abolition, especially ending slavery as an institution in the U.S. and emancipating African Americans.
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Origin of abolitionism

First recorded in 1800–10; abolition + -ism

Words nearby abolitionism

abohm, aboideau, aboil, abolish, abolition, abolitionism, abolitionist, abolitionize, abolla, bolt from the blue, a, abomasum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to abolitionism

autonomy, citizenship, democracy, emancipation, exemption, immunity, liberation, privilege, release, relief, self-determination, self-government, sovereignty, abolition, autarchy, deliverance, delivery, discharge, disengagement, enfranchisement

How to use abolitionism in a sentence

Cultural definitions for abolitionism

abolitionism

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.

notes for abolitionism

Abolitionism in the United States was an important factor leading to the Civil War.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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