History Minute (052): Abolitionists steadily pressured Lincoln.

Quoting Zinn:

It was only as the war grew more bitter, the casualties mounted, desperation to win heightened, and the criticism of the abolitionists threatened to unravel the tattered coalition behind Lincoln that he began to act against slavery. Hofstadter puts it this way: "Like a delicate barometer, he recorded the trend of pressures, and as the Radical pressure increased he moved toward the left." Wendell Phillips said that if Lincoln was able to grow "it is because we have watered him."

Excerpt From

A People's History of the United States

Howard Zinn

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History Minute: abolitionists opposed the war with Mexico (025)

Quoting:

As the war went on, opposition grew. The American Peace Society printed a newspaper, the Advocate of Peace, which published poems, speeches, petitions, sermons against the war, and eyewitness accounts of the degradation of army life and the horrors of battle. The abolitionists, speaking through William Lloyd Garrison's Liberator, denounced the war as one "of aggression, of invasion, of conquest, and rapine—marked by ruffianism, perfidy, and every other feature of national depravity . . ." Considering the strenuous efforts of the nation's leaders to build patriotic support, the amount of open dissent and criticism was remarkable. Antiwar meetings took place in spite of attacks by patriotic mobs.

Excerpt From

A People's History of the United States

Howard Zinn

Get your copy — Support your local bookstores by shopping Bookshop.org:

 

Militant U.S. Anti-Abortion Activists: Towards the Total Abolition of Abortion (Public Research Associates; Inform Your Resistance podcast)

Who are the abortion abolitionists? What drives them, and how do their tactics overlap with those of other far-right movements? Join host, Koki Mendis, and PRA Senior Research Analyst, Cloee Cooper, as we uncover the differences between the broader pro-life movement and the abortion abolitionist movement.

The abortion abolitionists are a nationwide network of militant anti-abortion far-right activists who want to eradicate all abortion. They would like to see the death penalty for those involved in abortion. They draw on the militant anti-abortion movement from the 1990s that was responsible for violence against abortion clinics and providers. We discuss how the pro-life movement is more interested in working within the US legal system for reforms that further restrict access to abortion, while the abortion abolitionists want to abolish abortion in all instances.

We explore the influence of Christian Reconstructionism on the anti-abortion movement, and how its vision for a theocratic society has had a significant impact on the abortion abolitionist movement today. We examine the overlap between the abortion abolitionist movement, militias, and other far-right movements, including the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.

We examine the broader pro-life bills that have been introduced in various states, and we compare these bills with the ones that the abolitionists are advocating for, which would criminalize anyone who has an abortion and grant legal protection to fertilized eggs. We also look at the role of Bradley Pierce, the attorney behind many of the abortion abolitionist bills, and how his Foundation to Abolish Abortion is connected to the right-wing homeschooling movement. We explore the concept of the Overton window, and how the abortion abolitionist movement is pushing for their extreme ideas to become accepted as common sense.

Finally, we discuss how the abortion abolitionist movement is shifting its tactics to become more mainstream and to influence change. We assess the need to understand the strategies of the abortion abolitionist movement and to build coalitions to establish movement strategies rooted in communities and movements on the ground.
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-jxrcg-20537278

'Frederick Douglass: Prophet Of Freedom' Reveals Unknown Parts Of Abolitionist's Life (On Point)

Frederick Douglass was a fierce critic of America, a radical patriot and an abolitionist who was formerly enslaved. A new biography sheds light on the lesser-known corners of Douglass' life.
Interview:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2019/07/24/frederick-douglass-biography-david-blight

In the belly of hell’: The Quaker abolitionist disowned by his faith for condemning slave owners - The Washington Post:

Benjamin Lay, who had dwarfism, wrote one of the first treatises against slavery in America, denouncing Quaker slave owners as "man-stealers." ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/05/14/in-the-belly-of-hell-the-quaker-abolitionist-disowned-by-his-faith-for-condemning-slave-owners/