As early as the debates over the Declaration of Independence, slavery had divided Americans. But not until the 1830s did a mass movement, inspired by religious revivals that swept much of the North, emerge favoring the abolition of slavery. Unlike previous opponents of slavery, abolitionists demanded immediate rather than gradual emancipation. They spoke forcefully against slavery and slaveholders and insisted that African-Americans, once free, be accepted as equal citizens rather than being deported to Africa. …show more content…
Abolitionist ideas gradually took importance in northern churches and politics around the 1830s. For this reason, the regional animosity between North and South grew out of control and eventually lead up to the American Civil War. To some extent, the abolitionist movement was a religious movement that stressed the moral imperative to end the sinful practices of slavery and reexamine each person’s responsibility to uphold God’s will in