William Miller: Millerite Founder and Abolitionist

Yes, William Miller (1782-1849) was unequivocally opposed to slavery. His abolitionism was rooted in his Baptist faith and biblical literalism — the same hermeneutic that drove his prophetic calculations.

Religious Basis

Miller interpreted Scripture as teaching universal human dignity: "God hath made of one blood all nations of men" (Acts 17:26). He viewed slavery as "man-stealing" (Exodus 21:16, 1 Timothy 1:10) — a capital crime under biblical law. His premillennialism (Christ's return to establish justice) reinforced abolition: a just God would not delay judgment on a slaveholding nation.

Public Advocacy

• Preaching: Regular anti-slavery sermons from Baptist pulpits (VT, NY) — controversial, caused church splits
• Writing: Articles in Vermont Telegraph, Signs of the Times (Millerite paper), abolitionist pamphlets
• Organizing: Vermont Anti-Slavery Society (1834), local auxiliaries
• Political: Supported Liberty Party (Birney 1840, 1844), opposed Texas annexation (slave territory expansion)

Millerite Movement & Abolition

The Millerite movement (50,000-100,000 adherents, 1830s-1844) overlapped significantly with abolitionism:

• Many Millerites were active abolitionists (Joshua V. Himes, Charles Fitch, Apollos Hale)
• Millerite papers published abolitionist content alongside prophecy
• Camp meetings featured anti-slavery speakers
• Post-"Great Disappointment" (Oct 22, 1844): many Millerites channeled energy into abolition, women's rights, temperance

Distinctive Stance

Unlike some contemporaries, Miller rejected:

• Colonization (ACS): Sending freed blacks to Africa — called it "prejudice disguised as benevolence"
• Gradualism: Demanded immediate emancipation
• Compromise: Opposed Fugitive Slave Act (1850), Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Legacy

Miller died 1849 — before Civil War. But his movement seeded Seventh-day Adventists (strong abolitionists), and his biblical argumentation influenced political abolitionists. Frederick Douglass noted Millerite sympathy. Modern Adventists cite Miller's abolitionism as doctrinal continuity.

William Miller exemplifies how eschatological conviction can fuel social justice — the same "literal reading" that predicted Christ's return also condemned human bondage.