"Harry Bradshaw Matthews' history discusses antislavery movements in African American communities in New York State, as well as Pennsylvania and South Carolina, and their role in national movements during the 19th century. His identification and discussion of black leaders, historic sites, and instruction on conducting genealogical research is an outstanding addition that enhances the work. By compiling hundreds of illustrations consisting of newspaper articles, editorials, notices, and the name indexes of the 20th and 26th Regiments of the United Sates Colored Troops, Matthews gives a unique wealth of genealogical information that is a treasure-trove sure to aid scholars and family historians for years to come." [from GoodReads.com]
Just over the line: Chester County and the underground railroad. A catalogue to accompany an exhibition organized by the Chester County Historical Society
"This catalogue accompanies an exhibition held at Chester County Historical Society February 7, 2002 to December 31, 2002."-- T.p. verso.
Summary
Although this resource is described as a "catalogue", its contents are a series of articles about the underground railroad in Chester County.
"Relates the exciting tales of the legendary Underground Railroad in Chester County, Pennsylvania, an area on the front lines of the antebellum struggle over slavery and black freedom. Examines the spectrum of opinion among Quakers, the prominence of black activists, and the interracial cooperation essential to the Underground Railroad's success." [from Worldcat.org]
xv, 540 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 24 cm.
Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. [440]-519) and index.
Contents
Beginnings: 1800 to 1830 -- Connections: The 1830s -- Confrontation: The 1840s -- Victory: The 1850s.
Summary
Against a backdrop of the country's westward expansion, which brought together Easterners who had engaged in slavery primarily in the abstract alongside slaveholding Southerners and their slaves, arose a clash of values that evolved into a fierce fight for nothing less than the country's soul. Beginning six decades before the Civil War, freedom-seeking blacks and pious whites worked together to save tens of thousands of lives, often at the risk of great physical danger to themselves. Not since the American Revolution had the country engaged in an act of such vast and profound civil disobedience that not only subverted federal law but also went against prevailing mores.Flawlessly researched and uncommonly engaging, Bound for Canaan, shows why it was the Underground Railroad and not the Civil Rights movement that gave birth to this country's first racially-integrated, religiously-inspired movement for social change. [from the publisher]
On September 11, 1851, at Christiana, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the African-American community rose up in arms against attempted enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. While attempting to save four men from the federal posse charged to re-enslave them, rioters killed the Maryland farmer who was trying to reclaim his "property."
