David G. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823240326
- eISBN:
- 9780823240364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823240326.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
This chapter examines how the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law politicized the fugitive slave issue on a national scale. With the sectional conflict increasing, and the fugitive slave issue at ...
More
This chapter examines how the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law politicized the fugitive slave issue on a national scale. With the sectional conflict increasing, and the fugitive slave issue at the heart of compromises designed to resolve it, local newspapers began covering fugitive slave cases extensively, creating a new body of evidence just as the local Underground Railroad was becoming more secretive due to legal liabilities. Fugitive slave cases that previously would have only received limited local attention now might be publicized across the North and South. In Congress, Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Senator James Cooper gave important speeches on the Compromise. In southern Pennsylvania, this process as well as the 1840s legal struggle over fugitive slaves culminated in the Christiana riot and the resulting treason trials of William Parker and Christian Hanway, which helped unseat a sitting governor and almost caused sectional rupture.Less
This chapter examines how the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law politicized the fugitive slave issue on a national scale. With the sectional conflict increasing, and the fugitive slave issue at the heart of compromises designed to resolve it, local newspapers began covering fugitive slave cases extensively, creating a new body of evidence just as the local Underground Railroad was becoming more secretive due to legal liabilities. Fugitive slave cases that previously would have only received limited local attention now might be publicized across the North and South. In Congress, Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Senator James Cooper gave important speeches on the Compromise. In southern Pennsylvania, this process as well as the 1840s legal struggle over fugitive slaves culminated in the Christiana riot and the resulting treason trials of William Parker and Christian Hanway, which helped unseat a sitting governor and almost caused sectional rupture.
Joan D. Hedrick
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195096392
- eISBN:
- 9780199854288
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195096392.003.0018
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
Harriet Beecher Stowe, a woman who disliked confrontations, who rode over unpleasantness with optimistic goodwill and turned aside anger with humor, found herself, as public opinion brewed over the ...
More
Harriet Beecher Stowe, a woman who disliked confrontations, who rode over unpleasantness with optimistic goodwill and turned aside anger with humor, found herself, as public opinion brewed over the Fugitive Slave Law, consumed with a rage unlike anything she had ever experienced. Her intense feelings were the more oppressive for having no outlet. Men made the laws and shaped the public opinion of the land, and women who found themselves morally repelled by their work had little recourse. Women engaged in rather extraordinary acts of civil disobedience, provoked by laws that they themselves had had no part in making. As the temperance crusade moved from the podium to the ballot box with the passage of the first legal constraint on the liquor trade, the “Maine Law” of 1851, women who had been active in temperance societies keenly felt their disfranchisement.Less
Harriet Beecher Stowe, a woman who disliked confrontations, who rode over unpleasantness with optimistic goodwill and turned aside anger with humor, found herself, as public opinion brewed over the Fugitive Slave Law, consumed with a rage unlike anything she had ever experienced. Her intense feelings were the more oppressive for having no outlet. Men made the laws and shaped the public opinion of the land, and women who found themselves morally repelled by their work had little recourse. Women engaged in rather extraordinary acts of civil disobedience, provoked by laws that they themselves had had no part in making. As the temperance crusade moved from the podium to the ballot box with the passage of the first legal constraint on the liquor trade, the “Maine Law” of 1851, women who had been active in temperance societies keenly felt their disfranchisement.
Matthew J. Grow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300136104
- eISBN:
- 9780300153262
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300136104.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter focuses on Thomas L. Kane's work in relation to the Fugitive Slave Law. It explains that Kane resigned as judicial clerk upon the passage of the law because it required him as a U.S. ...
More
This chapter focuses on Thomas L. Kane's work in relation to the Fugitive Slave Law. It explains that Kane resigned as judicial clerk upon the passage of the law because it required him as a U.S. commissioner to perform a central role in capturing and extraditing fugitive slaves. It discusses the conflict Kane's resignation caused between him and his father, John Kane, and suggests that this conflict illustrates the divide within the northern Democratic Party over slavery.Less
This chapter focuses on Thomas L. Kane's work in relation to the Fugitive Slave Law. It explains that Kane resigned as judicial clerk upon the passage of the law because it required him as a U.S. commissioner to perform a central role in capturing and extraditing fugitive slaves. It discusses the conflict Kane's resignation caused between him and his father, John Kane, and suggests that this conflict illustrates the divide within the northern Democratic Party over slavery.
J. Brent Morris
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781469618272
- eISBN:
- 9781469618296
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina9781469618272.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter describes the open and successful defiance of the Oberlinites towards federal authority and the Fugitive Slave Law, and their manipulation of the rescue episode into a triumphant ...
More
This chapter describes the open and successful defiance of the Oberlinites towards federal authority and the Fugitive Slave Law, and their manipulation of the rescue episode into a triumphant propaganda. In Ohio and across the North, the flagging Republican Party embraced the Oberlin Rescuers, and in the process, the resulting injection of radicalism helped rescue the party from its drift toward conservatism and directed it down the path that would ultimately lead to a national policy of emancipation.Less
This chapter describes the open and successful defiance of the Oberlinites towards federal authority and the Fugitive Slave Law, and their manipulation of the rescue episode into a triumphant propaganda. In Ohio and across the North, the flagging Republican Party embraced the Oberlin Rescuers, and in the process, the resulting injection of radicalism helped rescue the party from its drift toward conservatism and directed it down the path that would ultimately lead to a national policy of emancipation.
R. J. M. Blackett
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781469608778
- eISBN:
- 9781469611792
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9781469608785_Blackett
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
The 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, which mandated action to aid in the recovery of runaway slaves and denied fugitives legal rights if they were apprehended, quickly became a focal point in the debate over ...
More
The 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, which mandated action to aid in the recovery of runaway slaves and denied fugitives legal rights if they were apprehended, quickly became a focal point in the debate over the future of slavery and the nature of the union. This book uses the experiences of escaped slaves and those who aided them to explore the inner workings of the Underground Railroad and the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, while shedding light on the political effects of slave escape in southern states, border states, and the North. It highlights the lives of those who escaped, the impact of the fugitive slave cases, and the extent to which slaves planning to escape were aided by free blacks, fellow slaves, and outsiders who went south to entice them to escape. Using these stories of particular individuals, moments, and communities, the author shows how slave flight shaped national politics as the South witnessed slavery beginning to collapse and the North experienced a threat to its freedom.Less
The 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, which mandated action to aid in the recovery of runaway slaves and denied fugitives legal rights if they were apprehended, quickly became a focal point in the debate over the future of slavery and the nature of the union. This book uses the experiences of escaped slaves and those who aided them to explore the inner workings of the Underground Railroad and the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, while shedding light on the political effects of slave escape in southern states, border states, and the North. It highlights the lives of those who escaped, the impact of the fugitive slave cases, and the extent to which slaves planning to escape were aided by free blacks, fellow slaves, and outsiders who went south to entice them to escape. Using these stories of particular individuals, moments, and communities, the author shows how slave flight shaped national politics as the South witnessed slavery beginning to collapse and the North experienced a threat to its freedom.
Richard Archer
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190676643
- eISBN:
- 9780190676674
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190676643.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century, Political History
There was no straight line from a racist society to one that supported full equality, and there was no guarantee that a right established one year could not be changed the next. That rang true in the ...
More
There was no straight line from a racist society to one that supported full equality, and there was no guarantee that a right established one year could not be changed the next. That rang true in the United States and particularly in New England following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law. This chapter analyzes the four most important fugitive slave cases of the region: William and Ellen Craft, Frederick Minkins, Thomas Sims, and Anthony Burns. The result of those cases—two successful, two not—was a change in New England. Antislavery became socially acceptable, and there was an increased willingness among white New Englanders to accept the equal rights of African Americans. But racism hadn't died. What was different were attitudes about New England and about the slave South. In the short term black New Englanders benefited, but there were limits to progress.Less
There was no straight line from a racist society to one that supported full equality, and there was no guarantee that a right established one year could not be changed the next. That rang true in the United States and particularly in New England following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law. This chapter analyzes the four most important fugitive slave cases of the region: William and Ellen Craft, Frederick Minkins, Thomas Sims, and Anthony Burns. The result of those cases—two successful, two not—was a change in New England. Antislavery became socially acceptable, and there was an increased willingness among white New Englanders to accept the equal rights of African Americans. But racism hadn't died. What was different were attitudes about New England and about the slave South. In the short term black New Englanders benefited, but there were limits to progress.
Nikki M. Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813140773
- eISBN:
- 9780813141428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813140773.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
Chapter Two examines Clark’s decision to embrace emigration as a response to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law and the intractability of racism in America. The chapter documents his plans to participate in ...
More
Chapter Two examines Clark’s decision to embrace emigration as a response to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law and the intractability of racism in America. The chapter documents his plans to participate in a local American Colonization Society scheme called “Ohio in Africa.” Although he took steps to leave, he never sailed for the colony. He eventually abandoned his plans to emigrate, determined to stay and fight for African Americans’ rights in the United States.Less
Chapter Two examines Clark’s decision to embrace emigration as a response to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law and the intractability of racism in America. The chapter documents his plans to participate in a local American Colonization Society scheme called “Ohio in Africa.” Although he took steps to leave, he never sailed for the colony. He eventually abandoned his plans to emigrate, determined to stay and fight for African Americans’ rights in the United States.
Paul C. Gutjahr
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199740420
- eISBN:
- 9780199894703
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199740420.003.0048
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Chapter forty-eight examines Hodge’s politics and his tripartite commitment to God’s sovereignty, property rights and the need for religion to be tied to political action for the good of the nation. ...
More
Chapter forty-eight examines Hodge’s politics and his tripartite commitment to God’s sovereignty, property rights and the need for religion to be tied to political action for the good of the nation. Through an examination of Hodge’s Repertory review of Moses Stuart’s Conscience and the Constitution, one finds that Hodge had a firm commitment to believing that humanity’s common moral sense would bind the nation together. This belief was unsettled by the Civil War. Hodge also shifted political party allegiances during this life from the Whig party to the Republican party, but he always considered himself a Federalist at heart.Less
Chapter forty-eight examines Hodge’s politics and his tripartite commitment to God’s sovereignty, property rights and the need for religion to be tied to political action for the good of the nation. Through an examination of Hodge’s Repertory review of Moses Stuart’s Conscience and the Constitution, one finds that Hodge had a firm commitment to believing that humanity’s common moral sense would bind the nation together. This belief was unsettled by the Civil War. Hodge also shifted political party allegiances during this life from the Whig party to the Republican party, but he always considered himself a Federalist at heart.
Martha Schoolman
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816680740
- eISBN:
- 9781452948744
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816680740.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
Traditional narratives of the period leading up to the Civil War are invariably framed in geographical terms. The sectional descriptors of the North, South, and West, like the wartime categories of ...
More
Traditional narratives of the period leading up to the Civil War are invariably framed in geographical terms. The sectional descriptors of the North, South, and West, like the wartime categories of Union, Confederacy, and border states, mean little without reference to a map of the United States. This book contends that antislavery writers consistently refused those standard terms. Through the idiom this book names “abolitionist geography,” these writers instead expressed their dissenting views about the westward extension of slavery, the intensification of the internal slave trade, and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law by appealing to other anachronistic, partial, or entirely fictional north-south and east-west axes. Abolitionism’s West, for instance, rarely reached beyond the Mississippi River, but its East looked to Britain for ideological inspiration, its North habitually traversed the Canadian border, and its South often spanned the geopolitical divide between the United States and the British Caribbean. The book traces this geography of dissent through the work of Martin Delany, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Wells Brown, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, among others. This book explores new relationships between New England transcendentalism and the British West Indies; African-American cosmopolitanism, Britain, and Haiti; sentimental fiction, Ohio, and Liberia; John Brown’s Appalachia and circum-Caribbean marronage.Less
Traditional narratives of the period leading up to the Civil War are invariably framed in geographical terms. The sectional descriptors of the North, South, and West, like the wartime categories of Union, Confederacy, and border states, mean little without reference to a map of the United States. This book contends that antislavery writers consistently refused those standard terms. Through the idiom this book names “abolitionist geography,” these writers instead expressed their dissenting views about the westward extension of slavery, the intensification of the internal slave trade, and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law by appealing to other anachronistic, partial, or entirely fictional north-south and east-west axes. Abolitionism’s West, for instance, rarely reached beyond the Mississippi River, but its East looked to Britain for ideological inspiration, its North habitually traversed the Canadian border, and its South often spanned the geopolitical divide between the United States and the British Caribbean. The book traces this geography of dissent through the work of Martin Delany, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Wells Brown, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, among others. This book explores new relationships between New England transcendentalism and the British West Indies; African-American cosmopolitanism, Britain, and Haiti; sentimental fiction, Ohio, and Liberia; John Brown’s Appalachia and circum-Caribbean marronage.
Paul C. Gutjahr
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199740420
- eISBN:
- 9780199894703
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199740420.003.0049
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Chapter forty-nine examines Hodge’s early engagement in the events surround the beginning of the Civil War. Hodge was strongly pro-Union, and wrote early about the need to keep the Union intact. In ...
More
Chapter forty-nine examines Hodge’s early engagement in the events surround the beginning of the Civil War. Hodge was strongly pro-Union, and wrote early about the need to keep the Union intact. In this effort, he wrote one of his most famous and widely read Repertory articles: “The State of the Country.” Once it became clear that Lincoln’s election would lead to succession, Hodge attempted to keep Southern and Northern Old School Presbyterians united. This effort also failed as James Thornwell and Benjamin Morgan Palmer led Southern Old School Presbyterians to form their own denomination. Hodge had little sympathy for the South, who he saw unlawfully seceding as it turned its back on the Constitution, but he worked hard to attempt to avoid the breakup of the Union.Less
Chapter forty-nine examines Hodge’s early engagement in the events surround the beginning of the Civil War. Hodge was strongly pro-Union, and wrote early about the need to keep the Union intact. In this effort, he wrote one of his most famous and widely read Repertory articles: “The State of the Country.” Once it became clear that Lincoln’s election would lead to succession, Hodge attempted to keep Southern and Northern Old School Presbyterians united. This effort also failed as James Thornwell and Benjamin Morgan Palmer led Southern Old School Presbyterians to form their own denomination. Hodge had little sympathy for the South, who he saw unlawfully seceding as it turned its back on the Constitution, but he worked hard to attempt to avoid the breakup of the Union.
John Andrew Jackson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807869550
- eISBN:
- 9781469602868
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807869567_jackson
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
In this book, escaped slave John Andrew Jackson seeks to educate his readers on the horrors of slavery. He spares no details in relating the murder of his sister, the separation of his family, and ...
More
In this book, escaped slave John Andrew Jackson seeks to educate his readers on the horrors of slavery. He spares no details in relating the murder of his sister, the separation of his family, and his own frequent whippings at the hands of a “Christian” master and mistress. He offers a scathing review of white religious hypocrisy, criticizing those who could not see the contradiction between worshiping a merciful God on Sundays and holding slaves under inhumane conditions. Jackson details his escape from slavery into Massachusetts as a ship stowaway after he is separated by sale from his first wife and child. He also describes his interactions with Harriet Beecher Stowe; his failed attempts to purchase the freedom of his family members; and his eventual escape into Canada following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law. Jackson's work also includes a variety of carefully recorded hymns and antislavery songs. Jackson would eventually flee to England with his second wife before returning to South Carolina after the War.Less
In this book, escaped slave John Andrew Jackson seeks to educate his readers on the horrors of slavery. He spares no details in relating the murder of his sister, the separation of his family, and his own frequent whippings at the hands of a “Christian” master and mistress. He offers a scathing review of white religious hypocrisy, criticizing those who could not see the contradiction between worshiping a merciful God on Sundays and holding slaves under inhumane conditions. Jackson details his escape from slavery into Massachusetts as a ship stowaway after he is separated by sale from his first wife and child. He also describes his interactions with Harriet Beecher Stowe; his failed attempts to purchase the freedom of his family members; and his eventual escape into Canada following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law. Jackson's work also includes a variety of carefully recorded hymns and antislavery songs. Jackson would eventually flee to England with his second wife before returning to South Carolina after the War.
Christopher Hanlon
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- December 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190842529
- eISBN:
- 9780190842550
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190842529.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
This chapter takes up the dispute that occurred in 1841 between Emerson and Margaret Fuller—a falling-out precipitated by Emerson’s affective coldness—as a fulcrum in Emerson’s evolution toward ...
More
This chapter takes up the dispute that occurred in 1841 between Emerson and Margaret Fuller—a falling-out precipitated by Emerson’s affective coldness—as a fulcrum in Emerson’s evolution toward activist politics. Examining Emerson’s writing on friendship and his relationship with Fuller, in particular in the essay “Friendship” (1841) and the coauthored book Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli (1852), the chapter contends that especially after Fuller’s death (an event that coincided with the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law), Emerson’s mulling of his friend’s charge that his own chilly disposition had prevented him from enjoining the “full communion” that Fuller and other friends had proffered provided him the template for traversing his own formerly aloof political engagement.Less
This chapter takes up the dispute that occurred in 1841 between Emerson and Margaret Fuller—a falling-out precipitated by Emerson’s affective coldness—as a fulcrum in Emerson’s evolution toward activist politics. Examining Emerson’s writing on friendship and his relationship with Fuller, in particular in the essay “Friendship” (1841) and the coauthored book Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli (1852), the chapter contends that especially after Fuller’s death (an event that coincided with the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law), Emerson’s mulling of his friend’s charge that his own chilly disposition had prevented him from enjoining the “full communion” that Fuller and other friends had proffered provided him the template for traversing his own formerly aloof political engagement.
Marcus Anthony Hunter and Zandria F. Robinson
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780520292826
- eISBN:
- 9780520966178
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520292826.003.0011
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
The first of three chapters on the power of chocolate cities, this chapter centers the life, activism, and pioneering efforts of abolitionist and black woman lawyer Mary Ann Shadd Cary. Exploring her ...
More
The first of three chapters on the power of chocolate cities, this chapter centers the life, activism, and pioneering efforts of abolitionist and black woman lawyer Mary Ann Shadd Cary. Exploring her migrations above and below the Canadian border, the authors highlight her sophisticated and politically informed racial geography of the United States. Detailing the movement of black people throughout the domestic diaspora, this chapter illustrates the how gender, place, race, and power collided in the lives of black people before and after the Emancipation Proclamation.Less
The first of three chapters on the power of chocolate cities, this chapter centers the life, activism, and pioneering efforts of abolitionist and black woman lawyer Mary Ann Shadd Cary. Exploring her migrations above and below the Canadian border, the authors highlight her sophisticated and politically informed racial geography of the United States. Detailing the movement of black people throughout the domestic diaspora, this chapter illustrates the how gender, place, race, and power collided in the lives of black people before and after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Karl Raitz and Nancy O’Malley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813136646
- eISBN:
- 9780813141343
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813136646.003.0030
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
Prior to the Civil War, Kentucky's enslaved population was concentrated in the state's prime agricultural counties. In 1790, Kentucky had 11,830 slaves and by 1860, the state's enslaved population ...
More
Prior to the Civil War, Kentucky's enslaved population was concentrated in the state's prime agricultural counties. In 1790, Kentucky had 11,830 slaves and by 1860, the state's enslaved population had increased to 225,483 or 19.5 percent of the total population. Large Bluegrass farms produced tobacco and hemp as commercial cash crops often with slave labor. Slave dealers collected surplus slaves and sold them to buyers who transported them into the South for resale to sugar cane and cotton plantations. Thousands of slaves fled their owners’ control and tried to reach Canada by way of the northern states. The combination of routes, modes of movement, individuals who actively provided assistance and places where slaves could be hidden were collectively referred to as the Underground Railroad. The Maysville Road corridor was an especially active slave escape route.Less
Prior to the Civil War, Kentucky's enslaved population was concentrated in the state's prime agricultural counties. In 1790, Kentucky had 11,830 slaves and by 1860, the state's enslaved population had increased to 225,483 or 19.5 percent of the total population. Large Bluegrass farms produced tobacco and hemp as commercial cash crops often with slave labor. Slave dealers collected surplus slaves and sold them to buyers who transported them into the South for resale to sugar cane and cotton plantations. Thousands of slaves fled their owners’ control and tried to reach Canada by way of the northern states. The combination of routes, modes of movement, individuals who actively provided assistance and places where slaves could be hidden were collectively referred to as the Underground Railroad. The Maysville Road corridor was an especially active slave escape route.
R. J. M. Blackett
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781469608778
- eISBN:
- 9781469611792
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469608778.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter considers different views about the workings and political impact of the Underground Railroad (UGRR). Before the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, organizations such as the Aiding ...
More
This chapter considers different views about the workings and political impact of the Underground Railroad (UGRR). Before the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, organizations such as the Aiding and Abetting Society had been sending whites and blacks into the South disguised as peddlers, colporteurs, and teachers to encourage slaves to escape. The “unnamed white man” was not just a figment of the imagination of those who felt themselves hemmed in and under siege; experience suggested he was real.Less
This chapter considers different views about the workings and political impact of the Underground Railroad (UGRR). Before the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, organizations such as the Aiding and Abetting Society had been sending whites and blacks into the South disguised as peddlers, colporteurs, and teachers to encourage slaves to escape. The “unnamed white man” was not just a figment of the imagination of those who felt themselves hemmed in and under siege; experience suggested he was real.
Arna Bontemps
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252037696
- eISBN:
- 9780252094958
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252037696.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter discusses the abolition of slavery in Illinois after the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861 marked the beginning of the end of the struggle for emancipation. Many of the settlers of ...
More
This chapter discusses the abolition of slavery in Illinois after the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861 marked the beginning of the end of the struggle for emancipation. Many of the settlers of southern Illinois had come from the slave belt. These men brought with them their outlooks and habits of life, and southern Illinois, later known as “Egypt,” became a stronghold of pro-slavery sentiment. With the opening of the Erie Canal, New Englanders, New Yorkers, and immigrants direct from Europe settled in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. These pioneers, too, “packed their beliefs in their traveling bags.” It has been contended by some that the construction of the Erie Canal was more influential in freeing the Southern slaves than were such abolitionists as William Lloyd Garrison. This chapter looks at some of the leading Illinois abolitionists, including Owen Lovejoy, Ichabod Codding, Edward Beecher, Zebina Eastman, Hooper Warren, Benjamin Lundy, and Lyman Trumbull. It also considers the Fugitive Slave Law and the reaction of Chicagoans to it.Less
This chapter discusses the abolition of slavery in Illinois after the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861 marked the beginning of the end of the struggle for emancipation. Many of the settlers of southern Illinois had come from the slave belt. These men brought with them their outlooks and habits of life, and southern Illinois, later known as “Egypt,” became a stronghold of pro-slavery sentiment. With the opening of the Erie Canal, New Englanders, New Yorkers, and immigrants direct from Europe settled in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. These pioneers, too, “packed their beliefs in their traveling bags.” It has been contended by some that the construction of the Erie Canal was more influential in freeing the Southern slaves than were such abolitionists as William Lloyd Garrison. This chapter looks at some of the leading Illinois abolitionists, including Owen Lovejoy, Ichabod Codding, Edward Beecher, Zebina Eastman, Hooper Warren, Benjamin Lundy, and Lyman Trumbull. It also considers the Fugitive Slave Law and the reaction of Chicagoans to it.
