Coffin vs Tubman
TWO SIDES OF THE SPECTRUM Though many individuals in the antebellum United States felt slavery was an abomination, few felt so strongly about it that they would risk their livelihood or wellbeing to fight for abolition. Those who sought change most avidly often drew inspiration from personal life-changing experiences or their engrained beliefs. Anti-slavery operations such as the Underground Railroad could not have functioned on such a large scale without the financial and organizational support given by wealthy citizens such as Levi Coffin. Others who had experienced slavery firsthand, like Harriet Tubman, felt that it was their duty to risk all the freedom they had won to help their enslaved family and comrades. In addition to freeing slaves and fighting to end slavery, these individuals became symbols of bravery and fortitude, giving inspiration to other abolitionists and sympathizers. Tubman and Coffin worked primarily in different time periods and geographical locations, but both were motivated to break slavery laws by their religious beliefs and their childhood experiences with the horrors of slavery. Even after the emancipation of the slaves in 1863, there was something within these two that kept them fighting for equality and justice.
Levi Coffin grew up in the heart of slave-owning America, on a farm in New Garden, North Carolina. He was born on October 28, 1798 into a devout Quaker family, who believed that slavery conflicted with the teachings of their religion. Clearly his parents’ teachings and the influence of the Quaker community had a lasting effect on Levi, since he knew from a very young age that he was morally opposed to slavery, claiming “I date my conversion to Abolitionism from an incident which occurred when I was about seven years old.” Working on his father’s farm with no assistance from slave labor, he developed an appreciation for hard work and often found himself interacting with local slaves. He received very little formal
Levi Coffin grew up in the heart of slave-owning America, on a farm in New Garden, North Carolina. He was born on October 28, 1798 into a devout Quaker family, who believed that slavery conflicted with the teachings of their religion. Clearly his parents’ teachings and the influence of the Quaker community had a lasting effect on Levi, since he knew from a very young age that he was morally opposed to slavery, claiming “I date my conversion to Abolitionism from an incident which occurred when I was about seven years old.” Working on his father’s farm with no assistance from slave labor, he developed an appreciation for hard work and often found himself interacting with local slaves. He received very little formal
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