Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    On the Edge of Freedom: The Fugitive Slave Issue in South Central Pennsylvania, 1820-1870
    Unavailable
    On the Edge of Freedom: The Fugitive Slave Issue in South Central Pennsylvania, 1820-1870
    Unavailable
    On the Edge of Freedom: The Fugitive Slave Issue in South Central Pennsylvania, 1820-1870
    Ebook545 pages7 hours

    On the Edge of Freedom: The Fugitive Slave Issue in South Central Pennsylvania, 1820-1870

    By David G. Smith

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In On the Edge of Freedom, David G. Smith breaks new ground by illuminating the unique development of antislavery sentiment in south central Pennsylvania—a border region of a border state with a complicated
    history of slavery, antislavery activism, and unequal freedom. During the antebellum decades every single fugitive slave escaping by land east of the Appalachian Mountains had to pass through the region, where they faced both significant opportunities and substantial risks. While the hundreds of fugitives traveling
    through south central Pennsylvania (defined as Adams, Franklin, and Cumberland counties) during this period were aided by an effective Underground Railroad, they also faced slave catchers and informers. “Underground” work such as helping fugitive slaves appealed to border antislavery activists who shied away from agitating for immediate abolition in a region with social, economic, and kinship ties to the South.
    And, as early antislavery protests met fierce resistance, area activists adopted a less confrontational approach, employing the more traditional political tools of the petition and legal action.

    Smith traces the victories of antislavery activists in south central Pennsylvania, including the achievement of a strong personal liberty law and the aggressive prosecution of kidnappers who seized innocent African Americans as fugitives. He also documents how their success provoked Southern retaliation and the passage of a strengthened Fugitive Slave Law in 1850. The Civil War then intensified the debate over fugitive slaves, as hundreds of escaping slaves, called “contrabands,” sought safety in the area, and scores were recaptured by the Confederate army during the Gettysburg campaign.

    On the Edge of Freedom explores in captivating detail the fugitive slave issue through fifty years of sectional conflict, war, and reconstruction in south central Pennsylvania and provocatively questions what was gained by the activists’ pragmatic approach of emphasizing fugitive slaves over immediate abolition and full equality. Smith argues that after the war, social and demographic changes in southern Pennsylvania worked against African Americans’ achieving equal opportunity, and although local literature portrayed this area as a vanguard of the Underground Railroad, African Americans still lived “on the edge of freedom.” By the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was rallying near the Gettysburg battlefield, and south central Pennsylvania became, in some ways, as segregated as the Jim Crow South. The fugitive slave issue, by reinforcing images of dependency, may have actually worked against the achievement of lasting social change.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFordham University Press
    Release dateDec 15, 2014
    ISBN9780823263967
    Unavailable
    On the Edge of Freedom: The Fugitive Slave Issue in South Central Pennsylvania, 1820-1870

    Related to On the Edge of Freedom

    Related ebooks

    United States History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Accessing BC History in 2020

      Dec 4, 2020

      Accessing BC History in 2020
      11 min read

    • Article

      Reading and Writing California

      Jun 30, 2020

      Reading and Writing California
      9 min read

    • Article

      Refracting History | Stories In Digital And Print

      Mar 4, 2021

      British Columbia’s history is told through multiple lenses. We must seek out diverse perspectives, continually reframe the ways in which we understand the past, and carefully choose formats for sharing stories. Should a particular story be told in pr

      6 min read

    • Article

      Holding A Mirror Up To Local Stories

      Dec 4, 2018

      Every year we see the publication of more diverse books about British Columbia’s history, reflecting the expectations of readers and the interests of authors and historians. My eyes are drawn to titles on bookstore shelves that amplify underrepresent

      15 min read

    • Article

      Refracting History | Stories In Digital And Print

      Dec 15, 2023

      [The act] was an overtly racist law prohibiting the arrival of newcomers from China. It also required all people of Chinese heritage, including Canadian-born, to register with the federal government in order to stay in the country. Chinese Canadian c

      3 min read

    • Article

      Happy Birthday, America, From A Village In Bangladesh

      Jul 2, 2021

      After learning English, our columnist reached out on social media to inquire about America’s history and culture. He gained knowledge – and friends.

      3 min read

    • Article

      A Daring Escape From Slavery, And The Love Story Behind It

      Feb 13, 2023

      This year marks the 175th anniversary of the escape to freedom of William and Ellen Craft, a married couple enslaved in Georgia. Devoted to each other and determined to start a family only once free, the duo devised a jaw-dropping plan to disguise th

      3 min read

    • Article

      IDA B WELLS American Heroine

      Feb 24, 2022

      IDA B WELLS American Heroine
      8 min read

    • Article

      Bravehearted Women

      Aug 29, 2023

      Bravehearted Women
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Real Story of Memorial Day

      May 23, 2014

      A Real Story of Memorial Day
      3 min read

    • Article

      Ref Lections On A Silent Soldier

      Sep 3, 2019

      Ref Lections On A Silent Soldier
      16 min read

    Reviews for On the Edge of Freedom

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words