The dramatic story of fugitive slaves and the antislavery activists who defied the law to help them reach freedom.More than any other scholar; Eric Foner has influenced our understanding of America's history. Now; making brilliant use of extraordinary evidence; the Pulitzer Prize–winning historian once again reconfigures the national saga of American slavery and freedom.A deeply entrenched institution; slavery lived on legally and commercially even in the northern states that had abolished it after the American Revolution. Slaves could be found in the streets of New York well after abolition; traveling with owners doing business with the city's major banks; merchants; and manufacturers. New York was also home to the North’s largest free black community; making it a magnet for fugitive slaves seeking refuge. Slave catchers and gangs of kidnappers roamed the city; seizing free blacks; often children; and sending them south to slavery.To protect fugitives and fight kidnappings; the city's free blacks worked with white abolitionists to organize the New York Vigilance Committee in 1835. In the 1840s vigilance committees proliferated throughout the North and began collaborating to dispatch fugitive slaves from the upper South; Washington; and Baltimore; through Philadelphia and New York; to Albany; Syracuse; and Canada. These networks of antislavery resistance; centered on New York City; became known as the underground railroad. Forced to operate in secrecy by hostile laws; courts; and politicians; the city’s underground-railroad agents helped more than 3;000 fugitive slaves reach freedom between 1830 and 1860. Until now; their stories have remained largely unknown; their significance little understood.Building on fresh evidence―including a detailed record of slave escapes secretly kept by Sydney Howard Gay; one of the key organizers in New York―Foner elevates the underground railroad from folklore to sweeping history. The story is inspiring―full of memorable characters making their first appearance on the historical stage―and significant―the controversy over fugitive slaves inflamed the sectional crisis of the 1850s. It eventually took a civil war to destroy American slavery; but here at last is the story of the courageous effort to fight slavery by "practical abolition;" person by person; family by family. 16 pages of illustrations
#30847 in Books Hunt; Lynn 2008-04-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.30 x .70 x 5.50l; .54 #File Name: 0393331997272 pagesW W Norton Company
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Splendid analysis and one of the finest writingBy Nishant Upadhyayfirst of all the book is very well structured with the content. Despite unstable and spreading issues; Lynn Hunt gathers and assimilated issues extraordinarily from third chapter. So first two chapter might embarrass and confuse you a bit; but a gradual and patient read ahead will make everything Crystal clear.Her analysis of evolution of human rights from rights of Man and torture is well compiled; addictive and brilliantly arranged for general understanding. Her writing of torture and change in prison and legal system makes me call her 'Simple Foucault'. Final chapter is equally persuasive wot her proper and unbiased analysis of the gestation of current Universal Declaration.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Shaky Start but Strong FinishBy Lionel S. TaylorThis is a book that finishes much stronger than it starts. The author is trying to track the development of the idea of Human rights in the western civilization and although there is a obviously a need to begin somewhere; the point where the author starts seems a little arbitrary. For this reason I believe that the first and part of the second chapters of the book are the weakest parts. After this; however the book seems to find its stride by tracking the development of the concept of human rights over time with a focus on the Declaration of Independence ; The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. She makes the important point that once the conversation on who should be included in what rights is started the group of those included will inevitably expand. All in all it is a decent introduction to the topic0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excelent work! I couln't leave it untill I finished ...By Patricia RodrÃguez HölkemeyerExcelent work! I couln't leave it untill I finished it! It was very helpful for my research project with the University of Costa Rica.Patricia RodrÃguez Hölkemeyer; Full Professor; School of Political Science; UCR.
