American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses
Encyclopedia
American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses is a book written by the American abolitionist Theodore Dwight Weld
, published in 1839. A follower of the abolitionist movement
, Weld was a white New Englander who composed this book using many first hand accounts of slavery and its horrors. The work focuses on the afflictions that slaves faced, such as their diet, clothing, housing, and working conditions. In the book, Weld also discussed several pro-slavery arguments. American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses was distributed by the American Anti-Slavery Society, and was very influential in the formative days of the abolitionist movement. Weld's work was the second most influential piece of anti-slavery literature of the time period, second only to Harriet Beecher Stowe
's Uncle Tom's Cabin
, and was used by Stowe as inspiration for her abolitionist novel.
Theodore Dwight Weld
Theodore Dwight Weld , was one of the leading architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years, from 1830 through 1844.Weld played a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer...
, published in 1839. A follower of the abolitionist movement
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
, Weld was a white New Englander who composed this book using many first hand accounts of slavery and its horrors. The work focuses on the afflictions that slaves faced, such as their diet, clothing, housing, and working conditions. In the book, Weld also discussed several pro-slavery arguments. American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses was distributed by the American Anti-Slavery Society, and was very influential in the formative days of the abolitionist movement. Weld's work was the second most influential piece of anti-slavery literature of the time period, second only to Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
's Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
, and was used by Stowe as inspiration for her abolitionist novel.