The American Revolution and its ideals forced Americans to view servitude of all sorts, and especially slavery, in a new light. In the years following the Revolution, slavery indeed became a "Peculiar Institution" out of step with the ideals of a new American society. Most northern states abolished slavery in this period and antislavery societies sprang up throughout the nation. Many people increasingly viewed slavery as an inherently evil system that endangered the republican experiment itself. Tragically, however, slavery in these same years became ever more entrenched in the economy and society of the southern United States. Debates over slavery grew increasingly contentious. In the decades preceding the Civil War, orators and writers publicized the injustice and horrid conditions of slavery. Free African Americans themselves galvanized the public conscience by speaking out against the evils of slavery and its consequences.
"Our Page, Harry," 1853, by George Fuller (1822-1884)
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