Final answer:
Conflicts over gender, race, and strategy shaped the abolitionist movement by leading to advocacy for women's rights, increasing tensions between the North and South, and causing internal splits based on strategic disagreements.
Step-by-step explanation:
The development of the abolitionist movement in the 1830s and 1840s was shaped significantly by conflicts over gender, race, and strategy. Gender issues were evident as the movement led to advocacy for women's rights, with leaders like Lydia Maria Child drawing parallels between the subjection of women and that of the enslaved. The racial dimension was critical, as the movement was both driven by and contributed to escalating tensions between the North and South regarding slavery, leading to a division within the country. As for strategy, there was a shift from gradual reform to immediate resistance, with William Lloyd Garrison at the forefront of the moral suasion approach, while radicals like John Brown eventually resorted to violence, culminating in his 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry.
Further conflict within the movement arose regarding its approach to women's rights, leading to a split and the formation of the American and Foreign Antislavery Society by those who disagreed with the elevation of women to leadership positions within the American Antislavery Association. This internal conflict, along with the various approaches to combating slavery, such as political campaigning and assisting runaway slaves, represented the broader strategy-based disagreements within the movement.
In summary, the abolitionist movement became a melting pot of activism that not only aimed to eradicate slavery but also became a catalyst for the early women's rights movement. Despite its achievements, it also faced internal challenges and disagreements that shaped its development throughout the period.