edHelper.com
European History: 1600s-1800s

Anti-Slavery Movement

Anti-Slavery Movement
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.79

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    inhumane, fines, mainly, illegal, piracy, organization, meantime, opposition, immediately, aboard, equal, death, champion, equipment, while, member
     content words:    Official Medallion, British Anti-Slavery Society, Josiah Wedgwood, Slave Trade, James Ramsay, Granville Sharp, Thomas Clarkson, Since Quakers, Parliament William Wilberforce, Slave Trade Act

Print Anti-Slavery Movement
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print Anti-Slavery Movement  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
     Quickly print reading comprehension
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Anti-Slavery Movement
     Leave your feedback on Anti-Slavery Movement  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Anti-Slavery Movement
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     Caption: The Official Medallion of the British Anti-Slavery Society, 1795, Josiah Wedgwood.
 
2     While the slave trade was making some people in England rich, there were others who were not willing to sit back and let it continue without opposition. These people, men and women, banded together in groups to bring an end to the slave trade and to abolish slavery in English colonies.
 
3     By the late 1700s, slavery had already been abolished in England. But the slave trade continued with British ships picking up slaves in Africa and selling them in America. Slavery itself also continued in British colonies even after it had been abolished in England itself.
 
4     Quakers in England began the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787. Abolitionists in this organization, including James Ramsay, Granville Sharp, and Thomas Clarkson, lobbied Parliament to end the slave trade. Since Quakers were not permitted to become members of Parliament, they recruited member of Parliament William Wilberforce to champion their cause.
 
5     Other members of the group worked in other ways. For example, Thomas Clarkson researched and interviewed sailors from slave ships to gather details about the slave trade. He collected equipment from slave ships, including iron handcuffs, leg shackles, and branding irons, to demonstrate how the slaves were treated.

Paragraphs 6 to 13:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper