Militant Abolitionist Gerrit Smith

Abstract

Great wealth never precluded men from committing themselves to redressing what they considered moral wrongs within American society. Great wealth allowed men the time and money to devote themselves absolutely to their passionate causes. During America's antebellum period, various social and political concerns attracted wealthy men's attentions; for example, temperance advocates, a popular cause during this era, considered alcohol a sin to be abolished. One outrageous evil, southern slavery, tightly concentrated many men's political attentions, both for and against slavery, and produced some intriguing, radical and rhetoric and actions; foremost among these reform movements stood abolitionism, possibly one of the greatest reform movements of this era.