Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery, whether formal or informal. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism is a historical movement to end the African and Indian slave trade and set slaves free. King Charles I of Spain, usually known as Emperor Charles V, following the example of the Swedish monarch, passed a law which would have abolished colonial slavery in 1542, although this law was not passed in the largest colonial states, and so was not enforced. Later, in the late 18th century, English and American Quakers began to question the morality of slavery. James Oglethorpe was among the first to articulate the Enlightenment case against slavery, banning it in the Province of Georgia on humanist grounds, arguing against it in Parliament, and eventually encouraging his friends Granville Sharp and Hannah More to vigorously pursue the cause. Soon after his death in 1785, they joined with William Wilberforce and others in forming the Clapham Sect. The Somersett Case in 1772, which emancipated a slave in England, helped launch the British movement to abolish slavery. Though anti-slavery sentiments were widespread by the late 18th century, the colonies and emerging nations that used slave labour continued to do so: French, English and Portuguese territories in the West Indies; South America; and the Southern United States.
Abolitionism is a bioethical school and socio-political movement that promotes the use of biotechnology to eliminate suffering.
Historically, there have been a number of religions and religious denominations which promoted the reduction of suffering by explicitly advocating non-violent behavior. Jainism, Quakerism and The Amish are key examples. Nevertheless, direct reference to the abolition of suffering is rare. The teachings of Gautama Buddha are sometimes understood to have been motivated by the eradication of suffering. Two quotations commonly ascribed to Gautama Buddha are "I teach one thing and one thing only: suffering and the end of suffering", and "may all that have life be delivered from suffering."
Abolitionism in the sense of the hedonistic imperative was primarily inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarian ethic.
People have been found in studies to achieve a “baseline happiness,” sometimes called the hedonic treadmill, a pre-determined happiness set point that a person will return to throughout their lives. This set point is regardless of their personal income.
Capital punishment, death penalty or execution is government sanctioned punishment by death. The sentence is referred to as a death sentence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences, such as first degree murder, terrorism, and espionage. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" (referring to execution by beheading). There are many execution methods; one widely practiced form historically that is the most common modern method used in jurisdictions with capital punishment is hanging.
Capital punishment has, in the past, been practiced by most societies, as a punishment for criminals, and political or religious dissidents. Historically, the carrying out of the death sentence was often accompanied by torture, and executions were most often public.
Thirty-six countries actively practice capital punishment, 103 countries have completely abolished it de jure for all crimes, 6 have abolished it for ordinary crimes only (while maintaining it for special circumstances such as war crimes), and 50 have abolished it de facto (have not used it for at least ten years and/or are under moratorium). No Western country still uses the death penalty except the United States.