What arguments and strategies did abolitionists use in their struggle to end slavery? Who opposed them and why?

Abolitionists had many arguments against
slavery. One was a Christian argument, asserting that "do unto others as you would have
others do unto you" and the mercy, sacrifice, and love central to the Christian message
were incompatible with holding other human beings in bondage.

Abolitionists
also relied heavily on pathos or the use of emotional argument, encouraging audiences to feel
the pain of slavery. An early, important anti-slavery story was that of Inkle and Yarico. Yarico
was an Indian woman who saved a white man, Inkle, from her fellow Indians who wanted to kill
him. She hid him, fed him, fell in love with him, and became pregnant by him. He persuaded her
to help him escape, saying he would marry her in England. However, as soon as they got to a
white controlled island, Inkle sold Yarico into slavery, fetching a higher price because she was
pregnant. This rended people's hearts in showing the cruelty and injustice of the racially based
slavery system. Similar emotional arguments emphasized the beatings, rapes, and other cruel
aspects of slavery. Other arguments emphasized the humanity and intelligence of blacks as a
basis for freedom. People such as Thomas Jefferson and John Woolman also discussed the debasing
and corrupting effects of slavery on whites, illustrating how too much
power led to laziness and cruelty.

In response, pro-slavery forces countered
Christian arguments with bible verses that advised slaves to obey their masters. Pro-slavery
people, such as John Calhoun, argued that slaves were better off under slavery as they received
good care and cradle-to-slave security, unlike factory workers. Others based their support on
slavery on the supposed inferiority of blacks. Many of these arguments were easily debunked yet
nevertheless had force.