Lydia Maria Child

Lydia Maria Child was a writer and abolitionist who first gained popularity in the 1820s through her children’s fiction (she is remembered today for the Thanksgiving poem “Over the River and Through the Wood”) and her series of domestic advice books, which included The American Frugal Housewife. In 1833 she published a popular but controversial antislavery tract titled “An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called African,” which depressed the sales of her other books. She continued to write abolitionist editorials in newspapers, and later embraced a variety of causes including women’s rights and Indian welfare.

The following viewpoint is excerpted from Child’s 1839 book Anti-Slavery Catechism, in which she attempts to put a moderate face on abolitionism. She emphasizes the practical benefits of emancipation and uses a question-and-answer...