Annual Bellows Lecture

This talk will discuss the ideological origins of American abolitionism, locating the movement’s ideas and strategies in Unitarian theology, especially biblical interpretation techniques and notions of self-culture and the benevolent and loving nature of God. It will further examine how denominational politics informed participation in the abolitionist movement, with leading figures of the denomination often more lukewarm about radical abolitionism than more marginal members like Samuel Joseph May. We will conclude by discussing Rev. Bellows himself, including his early opposition to abolitionism and hie embrace of colonization instead, as an example of the complicated antislavery politics of the Unitarian denomination.