From the moment of their enslavement, Africans and African Americans resisted their captivity with individual and collective acts of resistance. Once free, many blacks began expressing political opposition to slavery, promoting the abolition of slavery and the slave trade, as well as full citizenship rights for blacks. Some white Americans also expressed anti-slavery sentiments. Explain the origins of abolitionism and discuss the varying tactics African Americans and whites assumed in fighting for abolition. Explain why some white anti-slavery activists were not proponents of black equality and citizenship.
