antislavery

American  

[an-tee-sley-vuh-ree, -sleyv-ree, an-tahy-] / ˌæn tiˈsleɪ və ri, -ˈsleɪv ri, ˌæn taɪ- /

noun

1. opposition to slavery.

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adjective

1. of or relating to antislavery.

   The antislavery movement in the United States gained momentum in the early 19th century.

antislavery British  

/ ˌæntɪˈsleɪvərɪ /

adjective

1. opposed to slavery, esp slavery of Black people

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Etymology

Origin of antislavery

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; anti- + slavery

Example Sentences

As the polestar of Boston abolitionism, William Lloyd Garrison, the founder of the paramount antislavery periodical the Liberator, demanded immediate emancipation, denounced the Constitution as a pro-slavery document, and rejected voting as immoral participation in a system corrupted by slavery.

From The Wall Street Journal

Garrison and his followers remained staunchly committed to pacifism, even as the numbers of the enslaved multiplied and even as more and more antislavery Americans understood that the demands of the “Slave Power” threatened their own rights.

From The Wall Street Journal

On the political pressures faced by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787, “historians can argue convincingly that the founders failed to make the Constitution a document with clear antislavery implications,” Mr. Ellis writes.

From The Wall Street Journal

“There was this perception that antislavery Republicans hadn’t been sufficiently aggressive,” Waite said.

From Los Angeles Times

“Any time a cotton gin burned down in the South, they pointed to the Wide Awakes and other more radical antislavery Northerners and said, ‘This is arson.’”

From Los Angeles Times