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Text on a page discussing the Hereditary Slavery Law in Virginia and its historical context regarding slavery.
Text on a presentation slide discussing the impact of the Declaration of Independence on the anti-slavery movement.
Text from a document titled "Primary Source" discussing slavery and the Declaration of Independence.
Text on paper discussing slavery and the principles of the Declaration of Independence, including a survey question.

Full Primary Source Set: The Struggle for Abolition

Text on a page discussing the Hereditary Slavery Law in Virginia and its historical context regarding slavery.
Enactment of Hereditary Slavery Law, Virginia, 1662
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Text on a presentation slide discussing the impact of the Declaration of Independence on the anti-slavery movement.
Germantown Friends Protest Against Slavery, 1688
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Text from a document titled "Primary Source" discussing slavery and the Declaration of Independence.
An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing Negroes and Other Slaves, South Carolina, 1740
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Text on paper discussing slavery and the principles of the Declaration of Independence, including a survey question.
John Woolman, “Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes”, 1754
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Text from a presentation on Thomas Paine's views on slavery and the Declaration of Independence's impact on the Civil War.
Thomas Paine, “African Slavery in America”, 1775
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Document titled "Primary Source" discussing Belinda Sutton's petition to end slavery, linked to the Declaration of Independence.
Belinda Sutton, Petition to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1783
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A document titled "Primary Source" discussing correspondence between Benjamin Banneker and Thomas Jefferson, 1791.
Correspondence between Benjamin Banneker and Thomas Jefferson, 1791
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Text excerpt discussing the impact of the Declaration of Independence on ending slavery and its relation to the Civil War.
Ohio State Constitution, 1803 and Black Code, 1804
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Text document outlining the Missouri Compromise and its relation to the Declaration of Independence and slavery.
U.S. Congress: An Act to Authorize the People of the Missouri Territory to Form a Constitution and State Government (Missouri Compromise), 1820
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Text from a historical document titled "Primary Source" discussing slavery and the Declaration of Independence.
James Forten, from Letter I: Letters from a Man of Color, on a Late Bill before the Senate of Pennsylvania, 1813
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Text from a document titled "Primary Source" discussing principles of the Declaration of Independence and their impact on slavery.
David Walker, Appeal, in Four Articles, 1829
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Document titled "Primary Source" discussing slavery and the Declaration of Independence, from the U.S. Congress, 1807.
U.S. Congress: An Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves, 1807 
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Text discussing the advocacy for African American women's education and principles of the Declaration of Independence.
Maria Stewart Advocates Education for African American Women, 1832
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Text on a study guide about the Underground Railroad and principles related to slavery and the Civil War.
The Underground Railroad and Networks to Freedom
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Text on a document titled "Primary Source" discussing the Declaration of Sentiments and its relation to anti-slavery principles.
William Lloyd Garrison, American Anti-Slavery Society Declaration of Sentiments, 1833
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Text from a presentation titled "Primary Source" discussing John C. Calhoun's 1837 speech on abolition petitions.
John C. Calhoun, Speech on Abolition Petitions, 1837
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Text on a page discussing the impact of the Declaration of Independence on ending slavery leading up to the Civil War.
U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. v. Amistad 40 US 518, 1841
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Document describing the principles of the Declaration of Independence and their relation to slavery and the Civil War.
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, 1845
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Text discussing Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" and its relation to the Declaration of Independence and slavery.
Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” 1851
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Text discussing the principles of the Declaration of Independence and their connection to ending slavery.
Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave, 1853
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Text from a webpage titled "Primary Source" discussing George Fitzhugh's work and its relation to slavery and the Civil War.
George Fitzhugh, Sociology for the South, or, The Failure of Free Society, 1854
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Text from a document about the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and its relation to the Civil War and Declaration of Independence.
U.S. Congress, An Act to Organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas (Kansas-Nebraska Act), 1854
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Text content from a document discussing Abraham Lincoln's speech on the Missouri Compromise and its historical context.
Abraham Lincoln, Speech on the Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, 1854
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Text discussing the Dred Scott v. Sandford case and its connection to the principles of the Declaration of Independence.
U.S. Supreme Court, Dred Scott v. Sandford 60 US 393, 1856
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Text from a document discussing John Brown's final speech and its historical context related to slavery and the Civil War.
John Brown’s Last Speech, 1859
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Text from a document about Harriet Jacobs and the impact of the Declaration of Independence on ending slavery.
Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, 1860
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Chart illustrating slave population in 1860 with educational prompts related to the Declaration of Independence.
Chart: Slave population in 1860
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