Black people were largely at the heart of the anti-slavery movement. While President Abraham Lincoln might get historical credit for his role in bringing about the end of slavery, his actions were just the inevitable end after much hard work had been done by a host of free and enslaved black people. One of the most meaningful ways that black slaves helped to bring about the end of slavery was through their resistance to cultural assimilation during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. During this time, a number of different plantation owners sought complete control over the slaves by trying to force those slaves to take white names and abandon their old African culture . It was at this point that many slaves engaged in ritual singing . Their “slave hymns” reached far across the cotton fields where they worked, and this was an important way for slaves to retain their identity and their cultural closeness . This helped to set the stage for some of the resistance movements that took place before the Civil War.
Many different slave revolts helped to strike fear into the hearts of the slave owners . Denmark Vesey’s slave rebellion in 1822 did not ever come to fruition, but he organized the forces against slavery. Later, Nat Turner organized a slave revolt that gave a clear picture to the slave owners. In 1859, John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry produced ten American deaths. Brown was an abolitionist, and he got both white and black men to attack the American installations there. While Brown was white, he relied on the help of black leaders in organizing the event, including Harriet Tubman. She, too, played an important role in the ending of slavery, as her underground railroad provided both practical assistance and hope to individuals who wanted to escape the trappings of soul-crushing slavery .
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