Religious Groups and changing political climate in the ST Flashcards
Enlightenment
- ‘Rights of Man’
- Ideas of the Enlightenment seeped into everyday thinking and so began to question the right of a human being to own another
- Founding ideas of abolition
French Revolution
- Social and political unrest in Britain
- Revolutionary France abolished slavery in 1794, but restored in 1802 under Napoleon
- Encouraged more consideration of the practice
- To oppose the ST became a symbol of patriotic duty
American War of Independence
- Americans formed their own distinctive identity and political practices which were influenced by individual liberty
- Longevity of the ST was the legacy that the war bestowed on British social reformers
Quakers
Members of a group called the ‘Religious Society of Friends’ with Christian roots that began in 1650s England
Quakers influence on the ST
- Questioned slavery since the beginning
- 1783 petition against the ST signed by 273 people
- Many Quakers were literate with important links to publishers and print workshops
Quaker Anthony Benezet
- Big influence on Thomas Clarkson
- Set up evening class for poor Black children
- Campaigned to denounce slavery
- Anti-Slavery pamphlets
- Wrote to Queen Charlotte in 1783
- Corresponded with Clarkson and Sharp
Evangelists
- Believed in spreading the Christian gospel by public preaching
Evangelists beliefs on slavery
Strength of repentance as a means of salvation, saw the practice of slavery as sinful
Evangelist Clapham Sect
- Compromised of wealthy, Evangelical men such as William Wilberforce
- Used their high status network
- Claphemites were involved in gathering evidence against the slave trade for Parliament and lobbying abolition
Methodism
Known for its non-conformism because it doesn’t conform to the rules of the established Church of England
Methodism on the ST
- Joined abolitionist ranks, via meeting held by religious groups
- Spread non-conformity in new urban and industrial WC communities enabled the abolition message to reach large numbers
Unitarianism
- Open-minded approach to religion that gives a wide range of beliefs and doubts
- First to accept women as ministers and generally concerned with advancing social justice and equality
Unitarianism in the ST
- Willam Smith was a leading unitarian in the anti-slavery campaign and closely associated with Wilberforce
- William Roscoe was a Liverpool unitarian who was an MP during the Act being passed and spoke in support of the anti-slavery
Baptists
- Everyone is equal, there is no hierarchy of bishops priests exercising authority over members
Baptist influence on slaves
- Reject the idea of authority, congregational and supporting, so was attractive to slaves
Baptist core beliefs
The bible was a guide in all matters of faith and practice, made up of believers and not hierarchal figures