Thomas Jefferson was a politician. He may have felt ambivalence about slavery but found it convenient not to rock the boat. He had a romantic affair with Sally Hemmings, a black woman and he provided for her children.

He was a product of his times. Even Abe Lincoln had his doubts about abolition.

Abolitionists were like atheists today. They were reviled and mistreated by many in the Northern States.

William Lloyd Garrison publicly burned a copy of the Constitution in 1844, declaring it "a Covenant with Death, an Agreement with Hell," referring to the compromise that had written slavery into the Constitution. You can see how popular that made him.

He was forcefully removed by violence for his abolitionist speech at Faneuil Halll in Boston.

The Quakers were also reviled by many for their abolitionist stands.

We forget just how hard it was to deal with Civil Rights in those times.