“I Must Be an Abolitionist”: Pennsylvania Liberty Man Francis Julius LeMoyne

Posted by on Oct 24, 2019 in | Comments Off on “I Must Be an Abolitionist”: Pennsylvania Liberty Man Francis Julius LeMoyne In 1839, when William Lloyd Garrison (1805–79) and his allies lost control of the abolitionist movement in Warsaw, New York, African Americans could only vote in seven states. In the North, free blacks could neither sue nor own weapons, and their wages were disproportionate with those of their white counterparts for the same type of work. The Slave Power seemingly strengthened its influence in...
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Free-Thinking, 19th-Century Style

Posted by on Dec 2, 2013 in | Comments Off on Free-Thinking, 19th-Century Style Francis Ellingwood Abbot (1836–1903) was nothing if not determined. In 1872, as editor of The Index, the nation’s leading free-thought magazine, he began to muster the full force of his small army of subscribers against what was being called “the God-in-the-Constitution amendment.” A philosopher and theologian, he sought to reconstruct theology in accordance with scientific methodology. From the...
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Ann Preston: Pioneer of Medical Education and Women’s Rights

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Ann Preston: Pioneer of Medical Education and Women’s Rights One of the earliest supporters of a woman’s tight to a medical education was Ann Preston. In the late 1840s, she was refused admission to the famous medical schools of Philadelphia because of her sex, yet she persevered in her efforts to obtain medical training, earned her M.D. degree and spent the rest of her life working for the improvement of women’s medical education and for the...
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Madman or Saint? Abolitionist John Brown

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Madman or Saint? Abolitionist John Brown The door to the jail cell creaked open, and the condemned old man stared at his visitor, not recognizing the face. The one who entered spoke first, identifying himself as Morrow B. Lowry of Erie. The prisoner suddenly remembered, and “cordially and gratefully” greeted his friend of many years ago. Their reunion must have seemed strange and sad. Low­ry, learning that his former...
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The Emergence of Black Religion in Pennsylvania, 1776-1850

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Emergence of Black Religion in Pennsylvania, 1776-1850 The emergence of Black churches at the beginning of the nineteenth century was crucial to the survival of Black people in Pennsylvania and in the North because it provided two key resources. First, it provided a sense of meaning and destiny grounded in hope. Secondly, the Black church provided the institutional base for the economic, social, and political struggle of Blacks, including the...
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Calligraphy Version of Washington Irving’s Poem “The Wife”

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Calligraphy Version of Washington Irving’s Poem “The Wife” Amy Matilda Cassey, the wife of affluent African American abolitionist, businessman, and community leader Joseph Cassey, was active in the Philadelphia Female Antislavery Society, local black literary and debating societies, and reform movements of the day. Her greatest contribution, however, may be an album she compiled that spans nearly a quarter-century. From 1833 to 1856, Cassey filled her...
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Underground Railroad

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Underground Railroad Because of its proximity to the Mason-Dixon Line, Pennsylvania was a major crossroads of the Underground Railroad. Although much has been written about people, sites, and events associated with the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia, little had been researched on the capital city’s role until recently. In April 2000, as part of the annual Conference on Black History in Pennsylvania, the...
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Two Stationmasters on the Underground Railroad: A Tale of Black and White

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Two Stationmasters on the Underground Railroad: A Tale of Black and White As clerk of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society’s General Vigilance Committee, William Still (1821-1902) had grown accustomed to surprises. Not only did the young, free black abolitionist coordinate the Eastern Line of the Underground Railroad by finding shelter and escape routes to the North for fugitive slaves, but also he recorded their heart wrenching stories of inhumane treatment...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Carnegie By Peter Krass John Wiley and Company, Inc., 2002 (612 pages, cloth $35.00) The name Carnegie, like several others of its day – Westing­house, Morgan, Ford, Rockefeller, Winchester, Chrysler, Du Pont, Edison, Hershey – stands apart, apparently requiring lit­tle, if any, introduction. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) stands next to J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller as one of the...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Down the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake By Jack Brubaker Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002 (288 pages, cloth, $34.95) As the largest river on the East Coast, the rolling Susquehanna River is the indispensable tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, the nation’s largest estuary. Gathering strength from the scores of streams along its four hundred and forty-four mile journey – ­three...
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