American Literature
interpretations of 'Civil Disobedience.'
Abolitionism used as a single word, was a movement to end slavery, whether formal or informal. The term has become adopted by those seeking
the abolishment of any perceived injustice to a group of people. In 1796, John Gabriel Stedman published the memoirs of his fiveyear voyage to the
Dutchcontrolled Surinam in South America as part of a military force sent out to subdue bosnegers, former slaves living in the inlands. The book is
critical of the treatment of slaves and contains many images by William Blake and Francesco Bartolozzi depicting the cruel treatment of runaway
slaves. It was an example of what became a large body of abolitionist literature. Historians and literary critics find the roots of English nineteenth
century abolitionist literature in the preceding century. Eighteenthcentury Enlightenment ideals such as compassionate humanitarianism and a new
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