Complete Story
12/03/2024
Abolitionism Shows How One Person Can Help Spark a Movement
An Ohioan played a critical role in saving countless lives
Division, crisis and political violence are hardly new in the history of the United States. It may seem like the current political climate is driving the nation to a breaking point, but history points to examples that can serve as encouragement for those who feel they are powerless to change the political situation.
In the early 19th century, division and violence rose rapidly as the nation faced an impending conflict over slavery. At the time, the eventual triumph over slavery was anything but certain. This ideological battle called for exceptional leadership willing and able to advance the position that enslaved people had long held—that of slavery’s morally corrosive nature. One rural minister out of Ripley, Ohio, the Reverend John Rankin, offered precisely this kind of leadership, leading many of his peers to refer to him as the "father of abolitionism." His life is a sterling example of how one person's resistance can help spark a whole movement.
Few today would include Rankin in a list of notable abolitionists. Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison are renowned, and rightly so. But in important ways, Rankin’s work provided a foundation for these titans to build even more support for abolition.
Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.
