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The term '''abolitionism''' (from lat. [[Abolitio| abolitio]] refers to any system of ideas (and, possibly, a political programme and a social movement based thereon) that wants to do away with a repressive legal institution and the corresponding social practices. Therefore, the focus of abolitionism is always on
The term '''abolitionism''' (from lat. [[Abolitio| abolitio]]) refers to any system of ideas (and, possibly, a political programme and a social movement based thereon) that wants to do away with a repressive legal institution and the corresponding social practices. Therefore, the focus of abolitionism is always on
#a practice which is - at the given time in history - considered to be normal, tolerable and, above all, legal by the majority of a given society
#a practice which is - at the given time in history - considered to be normal, tolerable and, above all, legal by the majority of a given society
#but seen as an intolerable violation of higher principles of justice and humanity by an active minority (i.e. the abolitionists)
#but seen as an intolerable violation of higher principles of justice and humanity by an active minority (i.e. the abolitionists)
#who therefore engage in all sorts of activities with the aim of doing away with this practice and its legal foundation, and to do so immediately and completely.   
#who therefore engage in all sorts of activities with the aim of doing away with this practice and its legal foundation, and to do so immediately and completely.   


To sum it all up: all abolitionist movements are calling for the immediate end of a legal institution they see as utterly unjust.
To sum it all up: all abolitionist movements are calling for the immediate end of a legal institution they see as utterly unjust. Where do these higher principles come from? Often, they are derived from religion, but they might also be linked to natural law, international law, and/or principles of philosophy.  
 
==Slavery==
The classic example of an abolitionist movement that started out at the fringes of society, but ended up with a historic victory, is that against slavery. To enslave powerless people had been a very widespread practice over the ages and continents, and neither the democracies of the ancient Greek cities, the Roman or the Ottoman Empire would have been conceivable without this peculiar institution. It was only with the European Age of Enlightenment that things took a turn. While there had long been single voices of individual theologians and philosophers questioning the legitimacy of slavery, the 18th century witnessed a growing choir of dissenters, and, more importantly, of collective endeavors aiming at the abolition of first the slave trade over the Atlantic Ocean, and, then, slavery proper. While the first part of this struggle took place in England, the second one shifted its focus to the United States. At the end of that century-long struggle abolitionism had won an outright victory - something that hardly anyone would have believed to be possible at its outset.
 
 
Where do these higher principles come from? Often, they are derived from religion, but they might also be linked to natural law, international law, and/or principles of philosophy.  


In the history of abolitionism, the most influential ideology was probably that of the protestant church of the Quakers who call themselves the Society of Friends. They played a role in the first abolitionist movement which attacked the legitimacy of the transatlantic slave-trade, but also in the subsequent movement against the "peculiar institution" of slavery as such, and in later movements focusing the discrimination of prostitutes, capital punishment, prisons, and even the criminal justice system as such. In all these cases people who were advocating the immediate and complete elimination of these practices referred to themselves as abolitionists.  
In the history of abolitionism, the most influential ideology was probably that of the protestant church of the Quakers who call themselves the Society of Friends. They played a role in the first abolitionist movement which attacked the legitimacy of the transatlantic slave-trade, but also in the subsequent movement against the "peculiar institution" of slavery as such, and in later movements focusing the discrimination of prostitutes, capital punishment, prisons, and even the criminal justice system as such. In all these cases people who were advocating the immediate and complete elimination of these practices referred to themselves as abolitionists.  
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What is justice? What is tolerable? And what should never ever be tolerated by any human society? Here we touch upon [http://commonsenseatheism.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Gallie-Essentially-Contested-Concepts.pdf essentially contested concepts] and fundamental conflicts that have been riveting the public of all ages and cultures. By definition, abolitionists turn against an established order by challenging the legitimacy of one of its legal institutions (e.g. slavery) which they, the abolitionists, claim to be utterly unjust and morally completely untenable. This radical reproach does not make them popular with the defenders of the status quo. More often than not they picture abolitionists as irresponsible and dangerous radicals at the lunatic fringes of society. Every now and then, though, history concedes victory to the abolitionist cause - such as in the case of slavery. In those cases, abolitionism gains high respect after victory, and to have overcome an inhumane institution suddenly turns into a source of pride for the whole nation.  
What is justice? What is tolerable? And what should never ever be tolerated by any human society? Here we touch upon [http://commonsenseatheism.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Gallie-Essentially-Contested-Concepts.pdf essentially contested concepts] and fundamental conflicts that have been riveting the public of all ages and cultures. By definition, abolitionists turn against an established order by challenging the legitimacy of one of its legal institutions (e.g. slavery) which they, the abolitionists, claim to be utterly unjust and morally completely untenable. This radical reproach does not make them popular with the defenders of the status quo. More often than not they picture abolitionists as irresponsible and dangerous radicals at the lunatic fringes of society. Every now and then, though, history concedes victory to the abolitionist cause - such as in the case of slavery. In those cases, abolitionism gains high respect after victory, and to have overcome an inhumane institution suddenly turns into a source of pride for the whole nation.  


== Terminology ==


In pre-modern times there was an institution called "abolitio". In Roman law, the ''abolitio publica'' (as opposed to the more technical and individual ''abolitio privata'') was comparable to a general amnesty: people who were subject to the criminal justice system were suddenly set free. Whereas an amnesty usually refers to convicts who already had been handed their verdicts, an abolition referred (and refers) to people who are accused of a crime, who are at some stage of the criminal process, but who have not yet been sentenced. In other words: an abolition is an irregular end of a criminal procedure at the will of an (absolute) ruler who exercises his sovereign right to clemency even before a judgment has been reached. The ''abolitio publica'' meant something like "wiping out a criminal prosecution against somebody before a verdict was reached". Ever since the times of the Roman Empire, rulers used some joyful occasions regarding their own rule (a birthday, a crown jubilee, the birth of a long-awaited heir etc.) to temper justice with mercy and to announce abolitions and amnesties.
==Slavery==
 
The classic example of an abolitionist movement that started out at the fringes of society, but ended up with a historic victory, is that against slavery. To enslave powerless people had been a very widespread practice over the ages and continents, and neither the democracies of the ancient Greek cities, the Roman or the Ottoman Empire would have been conceivable without this peculiar institution. It was only with the European Age of Enlightenment that things took a turn. While there had long been single voices of individual theologians and philosophers questioning the legitimacy of slavery, the 18th century witnessed a growing choir of dissenters, and, more importantly, of collective endeavors aiming at the abolition of first the slave trade over the Atlantic Ocean, and, then, slavery proper. While the first part of this struggle took place in England, the second one shifted its focus to the United States. At the end of that century-long struggle abolitionism had won an outright victory - something that hardly anyone would have believed to be possible at its outset.  
Absolute rulers of all ages used these institutions as political instruments to influence popular opinion, but also to neutralize dissent, since their right to inferfere with criminal procedures at their will was by no means limited to clemency. The other side of abolition was their right to send anyone to prison or to the gallows just as they liked. In absolutist France, e.g., the King could not only free any of his subjects from criminal prosecution by writing a letter of abolition (lettre d’abolition), but he could also order the arrest of anyone by simply issueing a mandate to the contrary, i.e. a so-called lettre de cachet.
 
Since these interventions into the process of criminal justice were seen as following no other principle than the whimsical wilfulness of the absolute ruler, they drew a lot of popular resentment. For many, the lettres d'abolition and de cachet were the most striking symbols of the monarchy's violation of the principles of reason, justice, and equality. As a consequence, it was one of the first acts of Revolutionary France after 1789 to abolish the institution of the lettres d'abolition and the lettres de cachet.  
 
In other countries the practice of executive interference with criminal procedures was not extinct until much later, and in some it still persists until this day.


The nouns ''abolitionist'' and ''abolitionism'' did not appear until much later. They are linked to demands “from below” against repressive legal institutions considered unjust by those that are propagating their abolition (= abolitionists).


== The First Abolitionist Movements==


===Trans-atlantic slave trade===  
===Trans-atlantic slave trade===  
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