The Abolitionist Views of Alexander Von Humboldt and the Solutions He Envisioned to End Slavery of the New Born United States of America

Abstract

The present research systematically reviews academic works, diaries and letters of Humboldt himself and academic works and journal articles on him, and comes to conclusions as follows: 1) Though mistaken as "champion of slavery" throughout his life, Humboldt was an indeed an uncompromising abolitionist who never stopped condemning slavery. 2) The education he received in his early youth and the miserable life he witnessed during his Latin America exploration forged his abolitionist views. 3) Humboldt envisioned a possible solution to end slavery in the new born United States of America but failed to get it accepted by the then US government.