Essay Sample about Slavery and Theodore Dwight Weld

Crusader of the abolitionist movement, Theodore Dwight Weld, was born on November 23, 1803. One of the first of his kind, Weld grew up in Hampton, Connecticut with a father who was a minister and a mother whose family was involved in the Christian Church. Following in his father’s footsteps, Weld had decided to become an Evangelical Minister once he was admitted to the Institute of Oneida, but had later moved to study at Lane Theological Seminary to immediately pursue a role in the abolitionist movement. After being sufficiently educated, Weld decided to withdraw from his studies at Oberlin College and become a member of the American Anti-Slavery Society where he met fellow abolitionists Henry Ward Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and James G. Birney. To spread more awareness and information about abolition, Weld had written literary works like The Bible Against Slavery (1837) and Slavery As It Is (1839). Moreover, Theodore Dwight Weld rightfully deserves a monument at Oberlin college because of his impact on the abolitionist movement as an individual, and his influence on his fellow anti-slavery activists. 

Weld deserves to be recognized for his life’s work and his important contributions that ultimately led the abolitionist movement to success. For instance, Weld is known for his contributions to the Second Great Awakening which connected the ideas of moral and abolition reforms. These ideas of equality and societal reforms were very different from the current reality in the south which proved challenging to the abolitionist movement. To demonstrate the truth about slavery, Theodore Dwight Weld had gone as far as to write about the controversial issue in an attempt to shed light on such an important topic. His work, American Slavery As It Is, shares the everyday conditions and experiences that slaves, either men, women, or children, would have had to endure. In addition, the book also provides readers with testimonies from former and active slave owners (in the nineteenth century) to provide different views that people had towards slavery. This work, along with his other writings, like The Bible Against Slavery provided access to a different view of slavery for individuals who were in contrast to the ideas of abolition. Weld’s initiative had proved to be greater than others when he had felt the need to educate those around him about the controversial issue. He proved to have gone above and beyond for the cause when he had his first book published in the year of 1830. His work, along with others like Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowie, had changed the tides in people's hearts concerning slavery. All together, Weld’s literature works had greatly impacted the general public to demand change which benefited the abolitionist movement. 

Additionally, Weld entered the political world when fighting against the gag rule to further help the abolitionists’ fight for equality. While some of his colleagues had purposefully avoided entering the political system because of its backlash, Weld had decided to take his help one step further and temporarily move to Washington D.C. to conduct better research into destroying the so-called “ Gag Rule”. The gag rule was a series of rules that obstructed the discussion or consideration of slavery in the House of Representatives. This meant that all of Weld’s previous work of petitions to allow former slaves to vote or have freedom had been tabled and ultimately, lost. In an effort to clean out these rules and fight for justice, Weld worked with John Quincy Adams, former president, and served as a critical advisor for petitions Weld organized himself. This led to the eventual repeal of the Gag rule, and the subsequent allowance to receive and process black citizens to vote in elections. Although this may sound like a straightforward process, Weld had received a lot of backlash from Southerners who believed his morals were wrong. Contrary to this belief, Weld’s amiability had been in the right place from the start and proved that morally good people actually existed. Weld had started to contribute to abolitionism in his earlier life, but he truly demonstrated his leadership and persistence with his help towards the gag rule. Furthermore, Weld’s character and leadership had become very important to the anti-slavery movement because he represented colored people’s hope to truly become a part of democracy in the U.S.

An example that further proves Weld’s imprint on the anti-slavery movement is his influence toward fellow Americans that changed the direction of slavery. As a matter of fact, Weld’s imprint had started when he had met Harriet Beecher Stowie. Soon after becoming a member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Weld had published his works on the topic of slavery which influenced Harriet Beecher Stowie to create, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1851). Her literature masterpiece had become an instant bestseller in the Northern states and England which convinced England to stay out of the Civil war. This was significant due to the amount of power and resources that Europe could have provided the South during the war. If England were to interfere, the outcome of the war could have been very different. Due to Stowie’s perception of the cruel slave owner, the book had been banned in the Southern States but helped the North open their eyes to the evils of slavery. Stowie’s work had been so moving that she had met President Abraham Lincoln who had addressed her as “the little lady who started this Great War.” In other words, Weld’s insightful view of slaves and their conditions in, American Slavery As It Is had been the foundation of Stowie’s text which changed the course of the Civil War. Therefore, it was Theodore Dwight Weld’s initial creation that inspired Stowie’s work which created history. 

In an attempt to commemorate Weld for his contributions to the abolition movement, the Theodore Dwight Weld monument consists of Weld’s books and an orb sitting on top of a pillar surrounded by mountain laurels. The monument is to be located in the Wilder bowl of Oberlin College which is where Weld last studied before he decided to become a member of the American Anti-Slavery Society. The pillar in the monument serves as a support that is used as reinforcement that connects the foundation to the beam. In this case, Weld represents the pillar that connects the foundation of the abolition movement’s goals and the beam represents the outcome of success. Resting on top of the column, are Weld’s most well-known pieces of literature that revealed the truth about slavery to others. These books are, American Slavery As It Is and The Bible Against Slavery. The book at the bottom is The Bible Against Slavery which is slightly opened to a thirty-five-degree angle so that people who approach the monument would not struggle to read what is written in the top book. Inside of the top book is a quote said by Weld that is written, “He who robs his fellow man of this tramples upon right, subverts justice, outrages humanity, unsettles the foundation of human safety, and sacrilegiously assumes the prerogative of God" (Weld, 1839). Essentially, Weld expresses the importance of birthright that God gives to every man, colored or not. He also says that those who practice slavery are inhumane. In front of the two texts sits an orb that is meant to represent Weld’s leadership according to the Ancient Egyptians' use of symbolism. A prime example of this is his organization of petitions to repeal the gag rule in Washington D.C. Lastly, the flowers beside the column are known as mountain-laurels which are the Connecticut state flower, the birthplace of Theodore Dwight Weld. 

The inspiration behind the Theodore Dwight Weld monument design came from the Frederick Douglass Statue by Sculptor Gabriel Koren. In his sculpture, Mr. Douglass is seen standing with his hand resting on a flat sort of podium. This inspired the column incorporated into the Theodore Dwight Weld monument. Oddly enough, the books involved in the Weld monument were integrated after remembering a sight of The Book Burning Memorial which had included seventeen books stacked on top of each other vertically. Incorporating the same idea into the Weld memorial, two of Weld’s works were stacked on top of each other. 

More importantly, Theodore Dwight Weld should be credited with a monument for his contributions made throughout the anti-slavery movement. Not only did his text provide powerful insight into slaves’ lives, but his initiative also led to the repeal of the gag rule. Not to mention that Weld’s literature inspired his colleague Harriet Beecher Stowie to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin that changed the course of the Civil War. Given these points, Theodore Dwight Weld had fought for the cause of equality and is deserving of a monument because of selflessness and forward-thinking.