ABSTRACT
Abolitionism is the political and religious conviction that the practice of human bondage is morally wrong. It is impossible to study the political and social history of the Americas without studying the history of slavery. The modern development of the countries that compose the Americas proceeded hand in hand with the modern development of slavery. Questions of slavery's economic value, political viability, and morality deeply influenced the character of these countries from the moment of initial contact between the indigenous peoples and the European settlers until abolitionism took firm root and led eventually to the end of the practice of human bondage.
