The abolition movement has roots in the Second Great Awakening and the ideas those religious revivals spurred. Davis discusses abolitionists from the 1830s, like Theodore Dwight Weld who did noble work in trying to eliminate the evils of slavery, but while also considering religious ideals. The problem with this connection to the Church, which Davis notes, is that \u201cmost abolitionists and other radical reformers yearned to merge themselves in a righteous crusade that they saw as a prerequisite to the liberty of both blacks and whites\u201d (Davis 254). In connecting the religious ideal of redeeming sins to ending slavery makes it seem that these kinds of abolitionists were advocating abolition, not completely without the idea of helping the slaves, but still with the idea of helping themselves and other whites by looking more redeemable to God. As Caitlin said in her post (http:\/\/sites.davidson.edu\/his141\/the-second-great-awakening\/<\/a>) the Second Great Awakening, \u201cformed a basis for the treatment of the enslaved rather than a protection for their freedom.\u201d Those abolitionists who used the words of the evangelists in the Second Great Awakening did not always appear to have the best interests of the slaves in mind. This theory also connects to the American Colonization Society and their idea to liberate the slaves and then make them resettle outside of America. These white ACS members thought this would benefit the slaves, but they were also trying to rid the country of the African race. As the abolition movement advanced past the time of the Second Great Awakening, more white abolitionists begin to focus less on redeeming the sins of other whites and more on fully liberating blacks from enslavement. At this same time, free and escaped blacks became involved in the abolition movement and organized their own campaigns, because, with William Lloyd Garrison being the exception, \u201cfew white abolitionists could escape sounding patronizing to blacks\u201d (Wilentz 213). The abolition movement that began to spread did help propel the idea of ending slavery in America to the forefront of everyone\u2019s minds, but both Davis and Wilentz note the difference between those who truly believed in liberating the slaves so they could live equally among whites and those abolitionists who worked to free the slaves in the hopes that they could have a closer connection to God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The abolition movement has roots in the Second Great Awakening and the ideas those religious revivals spurred. Davis discusses abolitionists from the 1830s, like Theodore Dwight Weld who did noble work in trying to eliminate the evils of slavery, but while also considering religious ideals. The problem with this connection to the Church, which Davis … <\/p>\n