Before 1861, abolitionism was seen by most Americans as a radical or even a crazy idea. And even among abolitionists, blacks were more often seen rather patronizingly as racial inferiors who should not be brutalized - and might even be repatriated or "colonized" back to Africa - than as social equals who should be permitted to fully join American society on the same footing as whites.
Most of the founders and early leaders of my alma mater, Oberlin College, were quite progressive for their day: