What were the main reasons for the abolition of slavery in 1807?

Question

sorry, meant slave trade....

Answer 1

Not clear whether you're thinking British or American slave trade. 1807 could apply to either, since both passed the necessary pieces of LEGISLATION that year, though the American bill did/could not go into force until January 1, 1808.

On the American side the reason for that SPECIFIC year was a Constitutional compromise. When the Constitution was being written, many in the North had wanted to end the trade IMMEDIATELY. But to gain Southern support, they agreed that no federal prohibition could be passed for 20 years. (In fact, by 1787 ALL the states but Georgia had at least limited if not prohibited the importation of slaves. Also in the 1780s nearly all the Northern states passed legislation providing for the end of slavery itself in their own states -- mostly be a program of gradual/phased-in emancipation... much like what President Lincoln tried to talk border states into during the first year of the Civil War.)

Here is the provision in the Constitution --

Text: "The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person"
(Art. I, Sec. 9)

As a result, in 1807, with that date on the horizon, legislation was introduced to enact a national ban on the trade to go into effect as soon as the Constitution permitted -- "An Act to prohibit the importation of Slaves", passed on March 2, 1807, signed into law by President Thomas Jefferson on March 3. (Jefferson had urged such legislation in a December 1806 message to Congress. Unfortunately, the final bill was much weaker in enforcement measures than the North sought, and so too easily circumvented.)

Circumstances ALSO delayed British efforts to end the slave trade. In this case, the main source of the delay was the French Revolution and subsequent British war with France. (Among other factors, the slave trading vessels were where many British seamen gained their training. Thus opposition to the trade weakened for a time when many felt it was needed to provide able seamen for the British navy at war with France.)

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As for what MOTIVATED the push to end the slave trade and slavery -- much of this was similar in Britain AND the U.S. In its simplest form --the most powerful cause was the religious convictions of a group of devout evangelical Christians.

The "evangelical" revival (American part often called "the Great Awakening") of the 1730s-40s planted the seeds for a major push for social reform in BOTH places. The conviction that slavery was an evil to be ended was one of the first expressions of this. Quakers must be credited with its beginnings, then gained broader and more 'mainstream' support

In England this included leaders in both the Anglican Church and in separatist groups -- from John Wesley to Granville Sharp to Thomas Clarkson to William Wilberforce. In any case, ALL of these decided they MUST do so because of their Christian convictions. (Clarkson, who helped enlist Wilberforce's support in the House of Commons, was brought to the cause by, of all things a LATIN essay competition! at Cambridge -- whose question that year was "is it lawful to make slaves of others against their will?". He won the competition, and could never again escape acting on the question.)

That is not to say everyone who participated did so for the same reasons --but for the vast majority of the people, and esp of the leadership, this was the basis.

Thomas Clarkson
http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/clarkson.htm

English translation of Clarkson's essay
http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1070&Itemid=99999999

A recent book on Clarkson's campaign
Adam Hochschild. Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004).
(See also the Wilberforce biography recommended in a previous answer.)

Articles on other British abolitionist leaders
http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/index.htm


The anti-slavery movement in America was similarly motivated, and actually had been growing for quite some time in Puritan New England and (even earlier) among the Quakers. (The British emancipators did, however, lend support to American efforts in later years, esp after Britain outlawed slavery through out their Empire [1833]. Their leaders then organized a NEW group to fight slavery internationally.. beginning with assisting the abolitionist efforts in the U.S. [BTW, this group, though later renamed, is active to this day.])


In the U.S. an additional impetus was the philosophical and political convictions related to the American Revolution. Many saw the freeing of slaves as consistent with their own rhetoric about human rights. This had the largest legislative effect in the North (the prohibitions mentioned above), but there was also at that time much anti-slavery sentiment in the South, built on the conviction that slavery was an evil --difficult to easily end, but one that SHOULD and soon WOULD end. The hatred of slavery is reflected in an "abuse" Thomas Jefferson included in his original draft of the Declaration of Independence.

anti-slavery sentiment & acts in the era of the Revolution
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=46

(See Jefferson's draft of the Declaration, with slavery included among the "grievances" - http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/rough.htm#transcription )

Answer 2

First off your question needs to be cleaned up a bit. As you already stated, you meant slave trade, but there's an important distinction between internal and external slave trade. The importation of slaves was abolished on 1 January 1808 (not 1807), and even then Americans were not prevented from participating in external slave trade as long as they did not import them to the United States.

The group that formed the Constitution was very diverse. Some for slavery, some against. Some from the Southern states who may not have liked slavery but knew the people from their states would not accept a government that outlawed it.

The banning of importation of slaves was a compromise. It allowed both parties to save face in that the Northerners could go home and say they had made progress on the issue. Likewise the Southerners could go home and say the kept the Northerners from ending slavery. In the end we got our Constitution, which in itself was a series of compromises.

It didn't solve the issues at hand, perhaps only delayed the solution, but those 80 years perhaps gave us enough of a national identity to be able to suffer through the Civil War.

Answer 3

The movement for the Abolition of Slavery probably started in England back in the 1770s and grew in strength during this the last quarter of the 18th century - the Age of the Enlightenment.

The number one reason for the fight to end slavery by the Abolitionists was that they wanted to see an end to racism.

William Wilberforce [Tory] finally got his Bill to abolish slavery passed in the House of Commons in 1807, but emancipation of the slaves did not take place finally until c1830.

William Wilberforce speech : -

William Wilberforce's 1789 abolitionist: biography, bibliography, links, and images. ... To hear a recital of these facts would make people shudder; ...
http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/wilberforce2.htm

SLAVERY
It has been illegal to own slaves in England since the middle ages.

Try this site for more info : -

Anti-Slavery Movement -- Ideological Origins of Anti-SlaveryOpposing racism is definitely amongst the strongest reasons for the abolition of slavery. This argument seems quite feasible, considering the fact that only ...
http://www.cghs.dadeschools.net/slavery/anti-slavery_movement/origins.htm

More sites to visit : -

Set all free - Act to end slaveryHow and why the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery itself was ... In order to find the real reasons for abolition it is important to ...
http://www.setallfree.net/abolition2.html

Abolition of Slavery (Reason): American Treasures of the Library ...American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Reason ( Abolition of Slavery). The Thirteenth Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United ...
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr094.html

ANTI-SLAVERY TODAY IN THE 21st CENTURY
There is still more work to be done to free the slaves. You can join the fight by writing to Lord Wilberforce at the House of Lords.


HOUSE OF LORDS

Slavery: Legacy debate in the House of Lords - However, I too wish to point out to the House that Britain was the first country ... Lord Wilberforce: My Lords, I am grateful, as no doubt are other noble ...
http://www.arm.arc.co.uk/LordsHansard.html

Answer 4

For a start slavery was not abolished in 1807. It was merely the slave trade that was abolished. The reason it was abolished - because people began to realise it was wrong and campaigned until Parliament passed the abolition legislation.

Answer 5

There are many different reasons why slavery was abolished. Some of the reasons were economic (production of sugar was chosen over slaves); some were the actions of the black slaves (black slaves went on strike); some were the actions of white working class people(petition for abolition of slavery), and some were the actions of the white middle class people(campaigned for slaves' freedom).

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Suggest you read William Hague's excellent biography of William Wilberforce

Answer 8

It may have been officially abolished in 1807, but I bet your cotton socks that it is still occurring.

Answer 9

Change of attitude.