From: Clayton Slook
Date: 3/28/00
Time: 12:38:43 AM
Remote Name: 155.247.152.30
Clayton Slook History 67 This primary source was issued in New York, which was a state that, at that time, was a free-slave state. The people who produced this almanac were abolitionists or people who were in favor of freeing the slaves. There are many inhumane acts graphically depicted in the illustrations of this almanac where the white slave holders were oppressing and even torturing slaves. The slave holders were depicted as savages. A group that was started or supported by William Lloyd Garrison probably produced this almanac; a white abolitionist who started his abolitionist activities in Boston where he started to publish a journal called The Liberator. After a few years of traveling around the North and North Western states gathering support for the abolitionists, Garrison ended up in New York. Garrison brought together supporters for woman’s rights and the abolitionists for anti-slavery. By the time that this almanac was produced Garrison had thousands of followers and was busy with many other anti slavery endeavors in New York. It is likely that this almanac was one of the many anti-slavery activities that he was supporting in New York in 1840. This almanac was produced to gain support from people in the north by depicting the horrible acts that the slaves had to go through. This type of almanac was very graphic in the acts so the people of the North were impacted and willing to take action against these cruelties. The Northerners were not allowed to send any of their anti-slavery publications to the slave states because of the “gag rule” in 1836 which said that an abolitionist petition must be tabled. At the same time, the post office refused to carry any anti-slavery literature. The Northerners began to gain more interest at this point because the issue began to infringe on their rights. By 1840 the anti-slavery movement was trying to gain the support of the Northerners because they were worried that their liberties were at stake.