The icon of the abolition movement was the famous image of the enslaved man kneeling with his hands in chains, asking plaintively ‘Am I Not A Man And A Brother?’ Designed by the Quaker abolitionist Josiah Wedgwood it was one of the most compelling and brilliant pieces of political marketing ever devised. By depicting the enslaved man as a fellow human being, but helpless, it emphasized the idea that abolition was an act of Christian charity and humanitarian compassion. Abolition was portrayed as something that was to be given to the enslaved by the British people rather than seized by them.
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