During the Civil War, there were many skirmishes between pro- and anti-slavery groups in the area, and the Civil War's Battle of Westport was fought there in October 1864.

But instead of addressing the issue through legal routes, anti-slavery groups decided to fight the act subversively, supporting the Underground Railroad, defending slaves and helping them evade slave hunters and law enforcement.

These anti-slavery groups formed political parties like the Free Soil party and the Republican Party, which would introduce Abraham Lincoln to the country.

By the 1820s, anti-slavery groups were beginning to form, and by the 1840s, there was an organized network that aided fugitive slaves.

Like her parents, brothers and sisters, Harriet Forten Purvis was active in anti-slavery groups in the city, including the interracial Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society.

By 1792 states from Massachusetts to Virginia all had similar anti-slavery groups.

The Female Society for Birmingham had a network of women's anti-slavery groups and Heyrick's pamphlet was publicized here.

As a result, pro- and anti-slavery groups had frequent clashes culminating in the Battle of Black Jack.

Local anti-slavery groups flourished.

Garrison opposed action as a political party and avoided alignment with other anti-slavery groups.