Liberty Bell displayed in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was obviously made by Pass and Stowe in Philadelphia in 1753. Courtesy National Park Service
The Pennsylvania Freeman, New Series Vol. VIII No. 49, 4 December 1851. The bulk of this issue covers the trial of Castner Hanway, who was being tried for treason for his involvement in the Christiana Riot (also known as the Christiana Resistance) on 11 September 1851. The article describes and explains the proceedings of the trial and includes multiple testimonies from witnesses, such as members of the search party, residents of Christiana, and those who were attacked and injured during the resistance. These testimonies provide multiple accounts and perspectives of the Christiana Resistance. There are descriptions of the courtroom and the Black men on trial, Lucretia Mott, and the defense of Hanway by Thaddeus Stevens.
While the majority of the issue is coverage of the trial, there are also articles on other topics. "Come to the Fair" is an announcement of the upcoming Fifteenth Annual Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society Fair at the Sansom Street Hall on December 16. "A Thanksgiving Discourse" is a transcript of a speech delivered by Rev. William H. Furness on 27 November 1851. "Thanksgiving among the 'traitors'" is a short article that describes the Thanksgiving dinner served to those who were imprisoned for treason. "The Co-operative committee" includes a list of members of the committee and its purpose. The remaining items include a notice of the death of Rebecca Bustill, proceedings from the thirty-second U.S. Congress, and advertisements.
Admin/Biographical History
The Christiana Resistance, commonly referred to as the "Christiana Riot" occurred in September of 1851 in Christiana, Pennsylvania, a borough in Lancaster County. The events known as the Christiana Resistance include an attack from slaveholders in Maryland on the inhabitants and home of William Parker a free black man living in Christiana, Pennsylvania. The slaveholders crossed the state border, and attempted claim and return the freedom seekers as their property, under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
The violent confrontation resulted in the death of Edward Gorsuch, a slaveholder, and the escape of William Parker to freedom in Canada. Edward's son, Dickinson Gorsuch, was wounded and taken to the farm of Levi Pownall, where the Pownall family nursed him back to health. Historically, this event challenged the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and is considered a precursor to the Civil War.
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Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2020.News.1416
Other Numbers
Newspaper #1416
Other Number
Newspaper Collection #1416
Classification
Newspaper_#1416
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by TS and EM, Spring/Summer 2021; revised by HST, 3 September 2021. Added to database 3 September 2021.
Reprinted from Plastering industries, Convention issue, 1960.
William Thackara (ca. 1771-1823), plasterer, worked on Philadelphia's Congress Hall, 1793-95, on both the Bank of Philadelphia and the United States Capitol in 1808, and on the Pennsylvania State House (later known as Independence Hall) in 1816. In 1804 he was a founder and the first president of the Master Plasterers' Company of Philadelphia. Thackara worked at various times with architects Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Robert Mills, and William Strickland on a number of Philadelphia's finest buildings.
