Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts

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Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts, began with the opposition to slavery voiced by Quakers during the late 1820s, followed by African Americans forming the antislavery group New Bedford Union Society in 1833, and an integrated group of abolitionists forming the New Bedford Anti-Slavery Society a year later.^[1] During the era New Bedford, Massachusetts, gained a reputation as a safe haven for fugitive slaves seeking freedom. Located on the East Coast of the United States, the town was becoming the "whaling capital of the world", where ships frequently returned to port, operated by crews of diverse backgrounds, languages, and ethnicity. This made it easy for fugitive slaves to "mix in" with crew members. The whaling and shipping industries were also uniquely open to people of color.

Although only about 15% of the town supported abolition—and the town's abolitionists had different viewpoints about intermarriage, equal opportunity, and full integration—it provided opportunities for home ownership, education, attainment of a stable income, and the ability of African-Americans to help others escape slavery on the Underground Railroad. At the end of 1853, New Bedford had the highest percentage of African Americans of any city in the Northeastern United States.

Abolitionists brought in lecturers, including former slaves, to speak about the horrors of slavery. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and resident of the town, became an eloquent and moving orator on the lecture circuit. Slave narratives, produced by former slaves who lived in New Bedford, also provided insight about the experiences of slaves. At times, abolitionists paid for the freedom of former slaves who were about to be returned to slavery and women that were going to be forced into sexual slavery. They had a store for goods that were not produced by slaves, as part of the free-produce movement.

The town was full of contradictions. The cotton mills relied on cotton from the Southern United States, that was picked by slaves. There were people in the town who were unaccommodating to former slaves, due to racial prejudice.