DOC Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad by Eric Foner in History

Review

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful. Well-Researched Account of the Road Through NYC to FreedomBy Eric MayforthThe Underground Railroad is one of the most compelling topics in American history. Many who loathed slavery put themselves at great risk in order to strike a blow at that institution and help those in bondage find their way to freedom. Eric Foner examines the role that New York City played in the Underground Railroad in "Gateway to Freedom."Slavery lasted in the state of New York well into the nineteenth century; longer than it did in most Northern states; and Foner explains how and why New York City's attitude toward slavery differed from that of other places north of the Mason-Dixon line. The city's economy was closely tied to that of the South; and fugitive slaves were not completely safe in NYC then; as many of the residents there were unfortunately not at all hostile to slavery and all too willing to help slave catchers remand escaped slaves.Foner recalls both the key players and the structure of the Underground Railroad in New York City--as in any political movement; there were disagreements over tactics between factions; and the author remembers some of the differences the antislavery movements in NYC and Boston had with each other.The most compelling parts of this volume are the actual stories of those who fled bondage; reaching New York from places in the Mid-Atlantic and subsequently moving on via the Underground Railroad to Canada via Upstate New York.The odious Fugitive Slave Act was enacted in 1850. It forced anti-slavery Northerners to violate their consciences and support an institution that they abhorred; and as such was an un-American statute that had no place in an ostensibly free society. The law also caused many former slaves to flee to Canada; and Foner discusses the impact of the law on the New York City portion of the Underground Railroad.Foner closes by describing how the Underground Railroad wound down as the Civil War and then emancipation arrived."Gateway to Freedom" chronicles the remarkable courage of those who fled a horrid institution that saw them as not as fully human but merely as objects to be exploited. The book contains great sections of pictures and engravings as well; and; even though the book's scope is limited to a single city instead of the entire antebellum North; those interested in the Underground Railroad will find it well worth reading.6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Reads like a college lecture…By Marc O'PoloI partially heard an interview with Eric Foner on public radio; and that prompted me to purchase this book. I was multitasking at the time and so was probably less attentive than I should have been to what he was saying. I also made the mistake of not reading the reviews here on . Had I done so; I would have probably passed on this purchase -- despite loving history.As another reviewer; Dr. Lawrence Raw; described this book; it is “dry-as-ditchwater”. It took several nights to wade through “Gateway”; and I will say that it was an excellent soporific to combat insomnia. My problem was that I was expecting a greater exploration of the character and motives of the individuals who were involved with the UGRR. Instead I was presented with a laundry list: so-and-so enabled X-number of fugitives to move from Point-A to Point-B and thence to Point-C on such-and-such dates.Foner’s research into the subject of the Underground Railroad is outstanding; in my opinion; and he documents his findings meticulously. In my paperback copy of his book; the narrative text occupies 230 pages; while the end notes take up an additional 45 pages. My impression is that this volume has been written by a historian for other historians; not for the lay reader.Unfortunately; I can’t say that I learned much more than I already knew from other books in past years — other than; perhaps; that New York City was the hub of the UGRR — the Grand Central Station of the UGRR; if you will. Foner clearly lays out his NYC-centric focus in the forward; this is the result of a trove of documents found in the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Foner teaches at Columbia.I can recommend this rather slim volume to the individual who likes to delve into minutiae — and work to extract meaning from what you read. But don’t expect a easy flowing narrative.A final thought. While reading “Gateway”; I was periodically distracted by thinking about what is currently happening in the U.S. as regards race relations. In that respect; Foner’s volume triggers a lot of introspection regarding race and skin color in our current society.4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. ABOLITIONISM IN HOSTILE TERRITORYBy Marc LichtmanThe New York Times on Jan. 30; 2015 ran an opinion piece by Jon Grinspan making the following argument:"But before abolitionism succeeded; it failed. As a pre-Civil War movement; it was a flop. Antislavery congressmen were able to push through their amendment because of the absence of the pro-slavery South; and the complicated politics of the Civil War. Abolitionism's surprise victory has misled generations about how change gets made."***In case anyone thinks this is logical; this is one of the books you need to read (and if you know how absurd it is; you'll still enjoy and learn from the book).New York was mostly a pro-British Loyalist City in the First American Revolution; and mostly a pro-slavery city in the Second. But there was one thing it had going for it; it had the largest free Black population in the US. It also had a few very committed white abolitionists; some of whom were quite wealthy. The Committee of Vigilance for the Protection of the People of Color began as an effort to organize the Black community in New York to against kidnappings of fugitive or free Blacks. Hundreds of thousands have now seen the movie version of 12 Years a Slave: Fully Illustrated 1853 edition; the best American movie to be made to date about slavery. They know about these kidnappings to sell or return people to slavery. But the committee expanded into helping the many fugitives who arrived (largely as stowaways on ships). While the committee itself was relatively small; it had eyes and ears everywhere. There were large numbers of Black sailors and cooks; and also large numbers of Black stevedores. Some of the sailors were helping the runaways to hide; but in any case; when escaped slaves arrived at the docks; any Black worker could direct them to the right people. Since New York was not the safest place for a fugitive slave to be; they were often whisked up to the friendlier territory of upstate; or to New England; or Canada. These committees sprang up in various places in the country; and soon you had an informal network to help the fugitives along the way; whether by boat; rail; horse; or on foot. This became known as the underground railroad.At times some abolitionists would argue that they shouldn't be putting so much time and money into this; after all; you couldn't free all the slaves this way. Only a tiny number made it out of the deep South. But for several reasons; they were proved to be very wrong. When you look at the role fugitives like Frederick Douglass played in the movement; as writers; lecturers; and editors; you see how important this was. Most slaves were not literate; and even if they were; they weren't all capable of playing the huge role Douglass did. But many told their story to abolitionists; who produced numerous pamphlets; books; and articles giving former slaves a chance to tell their story. And as the abolitionist movement hardened into factions; the underground railroad was usually the one thing they collaborated on.Then too; the number of people drawn into open defiance of the original Fugitive Slave Act of 1793; and then the even more outrageous one passed in 1850 was of great importance in showing in both North and South people the intensity of commitment. And as it continued; many abolitionists who had been pacifists saw the need to sometimes take up arms. And in the end; the fugitive slaves became a major direct cause of the war. As Foner writes:"As slaves made their way to freedom in the late 1850s; the fugitive slave issue not only continued to intensify the sectional conflict over slavery; but also produced divisions in the North. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854... produced a political earthquake. In its aftermath; the Whig party disintegrated; and the Republican party emerged as a northern sectional organization committed to preventing slavery's westward expansion."Many Republican state governments enacted new laws that made enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act harder and harder. When South Carolina adopted a declaration of succession; one of the main issues it raise; despite the fact that few slaves ever escaped from that state; was northern obstruction to capturing fugitives.Pretty much everyone has heard of Harriet Tubman; but this book introduces people to other African American heroes of the underground railroad: David Ruggles; William Sill; Jacob R. Gibbs; Stephen Myers; Jermain Loguen; Louis Napoleon....***Now; back to that opinion piece in the Times. I don't think the article really has much to do with abolitionism and the civil war; I think it's about the protests against killings by cops. "Abolitionism's surprise victory has misled generations about how change gets made." This is an attempt to divert youth against protest movements; and into mainstream bourgeois politics. On Feb. 24; I was fortunate to attend a program at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; part of the New York Public Library. It was a discussion between Eric Foner and Leslie Harris on this book. In the discussion period; young people wanted to know whether the abolitionist movement had lessons for those fighting police brutality; and for the rights of undocumented workers. Both answered "YES."To place these event in the spread of US history from its founding to the age of imperialism; I recommend Americas Revolutionary Heritage. The best book on slavery is The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism. If you only read one book on the Civil War; let it be Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States) On reconstruction; Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution; 1863-1877; and Racism; Revolution; Reaction; 1861-1877: The Rise and Fall of Radical Reconstruction. And on the politics of fighting racism today; Malcolm X; Black Liberation; and the Road to Workers Power and The Clintons' Anti-Working-Class Record.