The Abolitionists, Part 2
Narrative of the Film
The film focuses on slavery in the U.S. and, in particular, the story of Frederick Douglas, a former slave, and anti-slavery icon. Douglas runs away from his slave master in the South to New York, where he marries Anna Marie. Garrison, an abolitionist, gives Douglas a chance to recount his story in his abolitionist meetings. As most of the people had not been to the South or even encountered a slave, Douglas became an instant hit. Over time he becomes a national hero among abolitionists not only in the U.S. but England as well. Stowe loses her child and is grieved so much that she, for the first time, understands the pain of slave mothers losing children. Stowe is sympathetic towards slaves, especially at the inception of the fugitive slave law. She publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which becomes a best seller. The film thus focuses on the abolitionist efforts of Garrison, Stowe, and Douglas (“3C Media Solutions”, n.d.).
Most Powerful Moment
The most powerful moment in the film is the treatment that Douglas gets in England. He, for the first time, enjoys freedom, and despite the country being white, racist segregation is something he does not encounter. It is powerful because Douglas, a black man, and a slave in his country, is treated as a hero in a foreign country. Friends from England secure his freedom back home and sponsor his anti-slavery efforts. Douglas is free in a white foreign country, yet he is a slave in his own country. It is, therefore, not surprising that Douglas considers England as a place he would live. On his return to the U.S. to continue his anti-slavery efforts, a gathering of over one thousand people sees Douglas off. The gesture is significantly powerful, considering that Douglas had been running away from capture in his own country due to the fugitive slave law (“3C Media Solutions”, n.d.).
Relation to Reading Assignments for the Week
Slavery was predominant in the South, which was adamant about maintaining slavery. The North, on the other hand, was anti-slavery. It is in this regard that slaves such as Douglas ran away to the North. The war of the U.S. and Mexico was another effort to expand slave territories by the South. The North was for the expansion of free states. The enlisting of California as a free state led to a compromise that resulted in the inception of the fugitive slave law. The joining of California as a free state meant that the North would gain more political stability. Increased political stability would be a threat to slavery since the North was anti-slavery (Cobbs et al., 2012, p 358). The South was the largest cotton producer necessitating the need for slave labor. Abolition would thus have had a more significant impact on the economic state of the South. Such sentiments led to the secession efforts by the South that relied on slavery and rode on the white supremacy narrative (Cotton is King: The Antebellum South, 1800–1860, p329).
Questions Conjured up in the Film
The material in the film brings about the need for a better understanding of the particular sentiments and role played by European countries in the abolitionist efforts. It thus necessitates the question, “which countries were pro-slavery and which ones were anti-slavery, and how did the stand impact slavery in the U.S?” The film documents the role that England played. The heroic treatment of Douglas (“3C Media Solutions”, n.d.) epitomizes an anti-slavery stand. It is in this regard that the question as concerns other countries comes to mind. It also raises the question of racism and its effect on black slave abolitionists-such as Douglas amongst white abolitionists such as Garrison. Racism was rife during the slavery era. A question as regards racism within the abolitionist circles comes to mind.
References
3C Media Solutions. 3cmediasolutions.org. Retrieved 5 May 2020, from
https://www.3cmediasolutions.org/privid/19288?key=f1538c0fa7635287946a137fcf4340862d3a3ae4.
Cobbs, E., Blum, E., & Gjerde, J. (2012). Major Problems in American History, Volume I To
1877 (3rd ed.). Cengage Learning.
Cotton is King: The Antebellum South, 1800–1860