anti-abolitionism
Opposition to emancipation
Anti-abolitionism is opposition to the abolition of slavery.
In the United States before the Civil War, anti-abolitionists ranged from slaveholders defending their economic interests to Northern workers who feared competition from freed Black laborers.
The term applies to any resistance to ending slavery, whether through legislation, mob violence, or political maneuvering.
Favoring legalized human ownership
- slaveholderOwner of enslaved persons
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- cottonPlant fiber for textiles
- SouthRegion with distinct identity
Old South · states' rights · John C. Calhoun · Confederacy · secession · gentry · aristocracy · paternalism
Involuntary subjugation to another
- chattelMovable personal property
- enslavementForced human ownership
- servitudeCompulsory labor under masters
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
auction · overseer · slaveholder · master · manacle · whip · cotton · tobacco
Favoring legalized human ownership
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- white supremacyDoctrine of racial superiority
- segregationForced separation by group
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
prejudice · bigotry · paternalism · hierarchy · subjugation · colonialism · nativism · reactionary
Formal withdrawal from union
- Civil WarCountrymen fighting countrymen
- disunionState of being divided
- divisionSplitting into parts
- strifeAngry, prolonged conflict
hostility · rebellion · tension · schism · confrontation · mob violence · backlash · suppression
Something blocking the way
- backlashStrong negative reaction
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
- recalcitranceStubborn refusal to obey
- inertiaResistance to altered motion
opposition · countermovement · holdout · suppression · censorship · book burning · mob action · intimidation
proslavery
Favoring legalized human ownership
- slaveholderOwner of enslaved persons
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- cottonPlant fiber for textiles
South · Old South · states' rights · John C. Calhoun · Confederacy · secession · gentry · aristocracy · paternalism · Missouri Compromise
bondage
Involuntary subjugation to another
- chattelMovable personal property
- enslavementForced human ownership
- servitudeCompulsory labor under masters
plantation · auction · overseer · slaveholder · master · manacle · whip · cotton · tobacco · sugar
proslavery
Favoring legalized human ownership
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- white supremacyDoctrine of racial superiority
- segregationForced separation by group
discrimination · prejudice · bigotry · paternalism · hierarchy · subjugation · colonialism · nativism · reactionary · tradition
secession
Formal withdrawal from union
strife · hostility · rebellion · tension · schism · confrontation · mob violence · backlash · suppression · censorship
obstruction
Something blocking the way
- backlashStrong negative reaction
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
- recalcitranceStubborn refusal to obey
inertia · opposition · countermovement · holdout · suppression · censorship · book burning · mob action · intimidation · propaganda
anti-abolitionismabolitionism
Movement to end oppression
abolition · antislavery · liberationism · gradualism · manumission