DOCSLIB.ORG

The Jerry Mchenry Rescue and the Growth of Northern Antislavery Sentiment During the 1850S Author(S): Jayme A

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Jerry Mchenry Rescue and the Growth of Northern Antislavery Sentiment During the 1850S Author(S): Jayme A The Jerry McHenry Rescue and the Growth of Northern Antislavery Sentiment during the 1850s Author(s): Jayme A. Sokolow Source: Journal of American Studies, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Dec., 1982), pp. 427-445 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Association for American Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27554201 Accessed: 20/02/2010 20:05 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cup. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. British Association for American Studies and Cambridge University Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of American Studies. http://www.jstor.org The Jerry McHenry Rescue and the Growth of Northern Antislavery Sentiment during the 1850s JAYME A. SOKOLOW on 2 In his second annual message to the Congress December 1851, President Millard Fillmore defended his administration's enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law. Although "lawless and violent mobs"1 had resisted to federal officers trying enforce the statute, he happily noted that resistance was : sporadic and ineffectual I and the the in these congratulate you country upon general acquiescence ... measures of peace which has been exhibited in all parts of the Republic [T] he to spirit of reconciliation which has been manifested in regard them [the 1850 in all of the has removed doubts and un compromise measures] parts country the of men our certainties in minds of thousands good concerning the duration of institutions and renewed assurance that our and our Union popular given liberty subsist for the benefit of this and may together succeeding generations.2 Fillmore also received support from both the Democrats and Whigs; at their national conventions in 1852 they pledged to honor the Compromise of 1850 and earnestly hoped that sectional differences would wane.3 as While abolitionists such Theodore Parker denounced the Fugitive Slave Tech Jayme A. Sokolow teaches in the Department of History, Texas University, Box 4529, Lubbock, Texas 79409. 1 James D. Richardson, Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 10 Government 1789-189J, vols. (Washington: Printing Office, 1907), 5, 137. 2 Ibid., 5, 138-39. 3 Kirk H. Porter and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds., National Party Platforms, 1840 111.: of Illinois 21. 1860 (Urbana, Univ. Press, 1961), pp. 17, Amer. Stud. 16, 3, 427-45 Printed in Great Britain Press 0021-8758/82/BAAS-3005 $01.50 ? 1982 Cambridge University me 428 Jay A. So\olow "to rescue of Law and promised any fugitive slave from the hands any to to even officer who attempts return him bondage,"4 antislavery advocates admitted that between the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska to to Act of 1854 most northerners were willing obey the law in order this mollify the South and prevent the disruption of the Union. During four was the year period the Fugitive Slave Law effectively enforced throughout were northern and border states; only nine accused fugitives rescued from as one were federal custody compared with hundred and sixty slaves who or remanded by federal tribunals returned without due process.5 As Horace most Greeley wrote about the early 1850s, Americans desired "peace and were prosperity, and nowise inclined to cut each other's throats and burn a each other's houses in general quarrel concerning (as they regarded it) only the status of negroes."6 Only after the Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the more Missouri Compromise did northern public opinion become hostile toward the Fugitive Slave Law. But the federal government continued to successfully enforce the statute; throughout the decade 82.3 percent of all were to accused runaways remanded their owners.7 a The passage of the Fugitive Slave Law culminated decade of frustration movement for the antislavery crusade. Although the abolitionist gained adherents during the 1840s, moral suasion, political agitation, and legal as action failed to contain or diminish slavery the Mexican War and the Compromise of 1850 signalled the apparent growth of the peculiar institu was tion. The Constitution also slipping away from the abolitionists. Federal state court were to and decisions decidedly adverse the novel arguments of antislavery lawyers and the judicial system actively promoted the rendition of fugitive slaves.8 Abolitionists might complain that by "a dash of the Commissioner's an accused was transformed "a human pen" runaway from 4 John Weiss, Life and Correspondence of Theodore Parser, Minister of the Twenty 2 Eighth Congregational Society, Boston, vols. (New York: D. Appleton, 1864), I, 102. 5 Stanley W. Campbell, The Slave Catchers: Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, W. W. 1850-1860 (New York: Norton, 1972), pp. 199-202, 207. 6 Horace 2 : Greeley, The American Conflict: A History, vols. (Washington D.C. 210-11. National Tribune, 1902), 1, 7 Campbell, pp. 49-95, 207. 8 Robert M. Cover, Justice Accused: Antislavery and the Judicial Process (New Haven and London: Yale Univ. Press, 1975), pp. 159-91; William M. Wiecek, The Sources of Antislavery Constitutionalism in America, 1760?1848 (Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1977), pp. 249-90; Thomas D. Morris, Free Men All: The Personal Liberty Laws the The of North, iy8o?i86i (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1974), pp. 130-218; Norman L. Rosenberg, "Personal Liberty Laws and the Sectional Crisis: 1850?1861," Civil War History, 17 (1971), 25?45. Growth of Northern Antislavery Sentiment during the 1850s 429 most being into property,"9 but Americans in the early 1850s concurred with measure. the The public's seeming acquiescence and the federal govern to return ment's unsparing efforts fugitives goaded even many pacifist abolitionists into unprecedented acts of civil disobedience and violence. They more became militant and openly defended disunion, d?fiance of the slave new power conspiracy, and violence against the hated Fugitive Slave Law.10 most was Perhaps the dramatic and influential early instance of resistance rescue on the of the runaway slave Jerry McHenry in Syracuse, New York, 1 was a October 1851. This pro-abolitionist riot harbinger of growing northern opposition to the strident demands of the South and its northern an allies and also illustration of the concomitant development of antislavery sentiment in the north during the decade before the Civil War.11 II was to Because Syracuse militantly opposed slavery and the Fugitive Slave a con Law, the city had already become focus of national attention in the troversy surrounding the recent statute. Located in western New York, this was a city of 21,901 whites and 370 blacks in 1850 originally settled by stream of migrants from New England who brought with them their state churches, schools, and piety. "Almost every free has its New England within its borders,"12 Vermont Senator Justin Morrill aptly observed. were Throughout the north and midwest these little New Englands centers of literacy, religion, reform and antislavery agitation. The larger cities, with to their commercial ties the South and their growing immigrant populations, 9 Remarks of James W. Stone in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, April 13, 1855 (Boston: n.p., 1855). 10 Jane H. Pease and William H. Pease, "Confrontation and Abolition in the 1850s," Journal of American History, 58 (1972), 923-37; They Who Would Be Free: Blac\sy Search for Freedom, 1830-1861 (New York: Atheneum, 1974), pp. 233-50; a Merton C. Dillon, The Abolitionists: The Growth of Dissenting Minority (Dekalb, 111.: Northern Illinois Univ. Press, 1974), pp. 219-46; Carleton Mabee, Blac\ Free dom: The Nonviolent Abolitionists From 1830 Through the Civil War (New York: Macmillan, 1970), pp. 185-332; Lewis Perry, Radical Abolitionism: Anarchy and the Government of God in Antislavery Thought (Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1973)5 pp. 231-94. 11 a see For pioneering narrative account of the Jerry rescue, W. Freeman Galpin, "The Jerry Rescue," New Yor\ History, 26 (1945), 19-34. Three brief, modern rescue accounts of the Jerry differ widely in their narratives and analyses. See Dillon, pp. 186-87; Benjamin Quarles, Blac\ Abolitionists (New York: Oxford Brewer The Univ. Press, 1969), pp. 209-11; James Stewart, Holy Warriors: Abolitionists and American Slavery (New York: Hill and Wang, 1976), pp. 124, 154-55 12 2 Congressional Globe, 36 Congress, Session, 663. me 430 Jay A. So\olow tended to be more conservative, but in western New York's burned-over district New Englanders settled in large numbers and supported the abolition ist crusade. While the Senate was debating the Fugitive Slave Law, Samuel Joseph a most May, transplanted New Englander and Syracuse's famous pacifist a and abolitionist, attended Fugitive Slave Convention in the nearby Finger to Lakes village of Cazenovia where abolitionists pledged aid runaway slaves in preserving their precarious freedom.13 Only eight days after Fillmore had a a to signed the Law, local Syracuse newspaper called for public meeting disscuss the new enactment.14 On 4 October Samuel R.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • MILITANT ABOLITIONIST GERRIT SMITH }Udtn-1 M
    MILITANT ABOLITIONIST GERRIT SMITH }UDtn-1 M. GORDON·OMELKA Great wealth never precluded men from committing themselves to redressing what they considered moral wrongs within American society. Great wealth allowed men the time and money to devote themselves absolutely to their passionate causes. During America's antebellum period, various social and political concerns attracted wealthy men's attentions; for example, temperance advocates, a popular cause during this era, considered alcohol a sin to be abolished. One outrageous evil, southern slavery, tightly concentrated many men's political attentions, both for and against slavery. and produced some intriguing, radical rhetoric and actions; foremost among these reform movements stood abolitionism, possibly one of the greatest reform movements of this era. Among abolitionists, slavery prompted various modes of action, from moderate, to radical, to militant methods. The moderate approach tended to favor gradualism, which assumed the inevitability of society's progress toward the abolition of slavery. Radical abolitionists regarded slavery as an unmitigated evil to be ended unconditionally, immediately, and without any compensation to slaveholders. Preferring direct, political action to publicize slavery's iniquities, radical abolitionists demanded a personal commitment to the movement as a way to effect abolition of slavery. Some militant abolitionists, however, pushed their personal commitment to the extreme. Perceiving politics as a hopelessly ineffective method to end slavery, this fringe group of abolitionists endorsed violence as the only way to eradicate slavery. 1 One abolitionist, Gerrit Smith, a wealthy landowner, lived in Peterboro, New York. As a young man, he inherited from his father hundreds of thousands of acres, and in the 1830s, Smith reportedly earned between $50,000 and $80,000 annually on speculative leasing investments.
    [Show full text]
  • "Almost Eliza": Genre, Racialization, and Reading Mary King As the Mixed-Race Heroine of William G
    "Almost Eliza": Genre, Racialization, and Reading Mary King as the Mixed-Race Heroine of William G. Allen's The American Prejudice Against Color Brigitte Nicole Fielder Studies in American Fiction, Volume 40, Issue 1, Spring 2013, pp. 1-25 (Article) Published by Johns Hopkins University Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/saf.2013.0001 For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/507675 Access provided by Columbia University (14 Jan 2018 04:25 GMT) “Almost Eliza” 1 “Almost Eliza”: Genre, Racialization, and Reading Mary King as the Mixed-Race Heroine of William G. Allen’s The American Prejudice Against Color Brigitte Nicole Fielder University of Wisconsin-Madison n 1853, Mary King, the white daughter of abolitionists, was engaged to marry William G. Allen, the “Coloured Professor” of New York Central College at McGrawville.1 The engagement stirred their upstate New York community into a popular controversy, Iinciting letters of family disapproval, newspaper commentary, and mob violence leading to their forced, though temporary, separation. Alongside his personal account of their engagement and marriage, in The American Prejudice Against Color: An Authentic Narra- tive, Showing How Easily the Nation Got into an Uproar (1853), Allen also reprinted various letters and newspaper articles both in support of and in opposition to his and King’s marriage. This array of accounts show how Mary King’s white womanhood becomes a function of genre: in the various stories of her relation to Allen, King’s race and sexuality
    [Show full text]
  • Education on the Underground Railroad: a Case Study of Three Communities in New York State (1820-1870)
    Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE 12-2013 Education on the Underground Railroad: A Case Study of Three Communities in New York State (1820-1870) Lenora April Harris Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons, and the History Commons Recommended Citation Harris, Lenora April, "Education on the Underground Railroad: A Case Study of Three Communities in New York State (1820-1870)" (2013). Dissertations - ALL. 30. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/30 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT In the mid-nineteenth century a compulsory education system was emerging that allowed all children to attend public schools in northern states. This dissertation investigates school attendance rates among African American children in New York State from 1850–1870 by examining household patterns and educational access for African American school-age children in three communities: Sandy Ground, Syracuse, and Watertown. These communities were selected because of their involvement in the Underground Railroad. I employed a combination of educational and social history methods, qualitative and quantitative. An analysis of federal census reports, state superintendent reports, city directories, area maps, and property records for the years 1820–1870 yielded comparative data on households, African American and European American, in which African American school-age children resided. The nature of schooling and the manner in which the household and community advocated for school attendance during this period are also described and compared.
    [Show full text]
  • FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW of 1850 Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia
    THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW OF 1850 Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky introducing the Compromise of 1850 in the United States Senate. In 1850, Southerners succeeded in getting a new federal law South to guide about 70 slaves to freedom. “I was free, passed to return fugitive slaves who had escaped to the North. and they should be free,” she said. The U.S. government enforced this law, but some Northern Abolitionists argued that once slaves touched states passed laws to resist it. Sometimes, free blacks and sym- pathetic whites joined to rescue captured fugitive slaves. the soil of a non-slave state, they were free. Some Northern states prohibited county sheriffs from as- The idea of returning fugitive slaves to their own- sisting slave hunters or allowing county jails to hold ers originated at the Constitutional Convention in their captives. 1787. At that time, the Constitution stated: In 1842, the U.S. Supreme Court in Prigg v. No Person held to Service or Labor in one State, Pennsylvania found the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, constitutional. However, enforcement of the law was shall, in Consequence of any Law of Regulation the responsibility of the federal government, held the therein, be discharged from such Service or Labor, court, not the states. The Supreme Court also decided but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to that slave holders had “the complete right and title of whom such Service or Labor may be due. (U.S. ownership in their slaves, as property, in every state Const.
    [Show full text]
  • Stories from Discovering the Underground Railroad, Abolitionism and African American Life
    Stories From Discovering the Underground Railroad, Abolitionism, and African American Life in Seneca County, 1820-1880 Introduction The various stories I have compiled here are based upon the information found in the project report Discovering the Underground Railroad, Abolitionism, and African American Life in Seneca County, New York, 1820-1880 written by Dr. Judith Wellman of Historical New York Research Associates. This is the report of the research project funded in 2005-06 by a Preserve New York Grant from the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts. The grant made it possible to do an in-depth sites survey of places in Seneca County that were part of the Underground Railroad and/or abolitionist activity and/or homes of African Americans. This report was completed through the Seneca County Historian’s Office. The purpose of these compiled stories is to help the reader grasp more fully the wonderful insights that can be gleaned from making use of the information found in this report. In my stories I have tried to take the information found in the project report about a particular place or a particular person and put it into a narrative format and add some discussion of the historical significance about this person or place. While each story can “stand alone,” when put together they help the reader to understand much of what was happening in Seneca County during these years. I sincerely thank Dr. Wellman for her wonderful wording that I have so extensively used and to which I have added some discussion of historical significance.
    [Show full text]
  • People of Courage, People of Hope, Seekers of Justice
    If you would like to learn more about Underground Railroad history, visit www.UndergroundRailroadHistory.org. You will find lots of information on that website and you will find links to People of Courage, other sources of information. Sign up to be on the email list o that we can stay in touch about all the great things going on at The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence. People of Hope, Consider visiting The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence, a documented Underground Railroad Historic Site located at 194 Seekers of Justice Livingston Avenue in Albany. Become a member of Underground Railroad History Project so that you can receive member benefits. Membership can be arranged online at www.UndergroundRailroadHistory.org/ product/become-a-member/ Please consider leaving your tour comments on The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence Page of Trip Advisor Follow Underground Railroad History Project on Eat lunch or dinner at The Albany Pump Station located at 19 Quackenbush Square and receive a 15% discount on one lunch or entree menu item when showing this coupon. Valid through 12/31/18. Underground Railroad History Project Albany’s Underground of the Capital Region, Inc. 194 Livingston Avenue, Albany, New York 12210 Railroad Walking/Driving Tour 518-432-4432 www.UndergroundRailroadHistory.org Learn the Past, Be the Present, Create the Future ® Learn the Past, Be the Present, Create the Future ® Before concluding your tour, find a comfortable place to sit and share the This tour guide book is produced by Underground Litany of Remembrance as a way to recall the names and brief stories of some Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • THE CONDUCTOR Network to Freedom Program Winter 2006 Issue No
    National Park Service The National Underground Railroad U.S. Department of the Interior Network To Freedom Program National Capital Region Washington, D.C. The official newsletter of The National Capital Region THE CONDUCTOR Network to Freedom Program Winter 2006 Issue no. 19 2 Marker for 3 Congress Passes 4 Network to 5 Article Related William Chaplin Gullah Geechee Freedom Goes to to Port Tobacco Dedicated Legislation Tulsa State Fair Courthouse Nom. The Maryland- National Capital The Sea Islands of South Carolina NTF went to the Tulsa State Fair, Under this head, the Washington Park and Planning Commission are renowned for the heavily Tulsa, Oklahoma, by invitation, to Union of the 9th, has the follow- unveiled a marker commemorating African-influenced heritage of introduce UGRR to Oklahoma, ing: "We learn from a police the arrest of William Chaplin for... descendants of enslaved... where it is not recognized as... magistrate, that sixty or seventy... NCR Sites Accepted Into Network to Freedom Our History grant from the visit began on September 11, History Channel, arranged by with a welcome by the City of Dean Herrin, Catoctin Center Syracuse and the Preservation for Regional Studies. Association of Central New "Leesylvania" (at Leesylvania York at the Jerry Rescue State Park), a former home of Monument. The Jerry Rescue, a the Lee family, is the first mem- famous incident in 1851, ber in Prince William County occurred in Syracuse when the and the first VA state park in the Syracuse Vigilance Committee, Aurburn NY Gathering. NPS Photo. NTF. Gerrit Smith, and Jermain Loguen rescued William "Jerry" Public review for Round 12 was The regional coordinators of McHenry from recapture under held in Auburn at a site associ- the National Underground the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
    [Show full text]
  • View from the Hill
    Cox: View from the Hill w...,~\1 . 'lk~O\~~~ ,,~~~~~\.._ · ~~~ ~~~~.....~~~,~llu...., ) ~ ~J;:>l\... , J~~ ().N.>. "- ~ ~ ~~~~.~~ ~ ~~~~~ ~~\;;.,~-~~ ~~- ""'~~~~~- ~1)..~ ~"'-- l\4-.~"<1-'-- \L,. ~~ ~~~ w.. 'u.., \3lJ... ~~ \ 1lu. ~ ful."i.~~~ . l:\·tt~\vJJ.~, !)..~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ 'w..~~ ~~~ ~<ltw- . \\w~~. ~~ IW Ul ~ ~'{ili-1~ ~ . \\,.,. ~ ~~ ~~ ~\.,_~~. ~'b..\i-~ \ - ~~~~~ ~~·vv..~~~~~~~.licb.l~~"~ ~~ ~ ~ li~ ~ '\k. \l.~'lt., ~ ~~ ~~ ~ (x~ ~\).\~_ ~ "\~' ~" ~ ~ ~ ~ 1\1.. ~~-l~\1.. ~ "-H-. \h.~"' 'l~ ~ ' "'~ ~ '¥ \.,_,_l;i ~~ ~ ~,, ~ · 'IJ.,... ""~ ~- "'-"\"'<~ Among the items on display at an SU exhibition highlighting Central New York's role in the antislavery movement were a portrait of the Reverend )erma in W. Loguen and a letter from Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith. n the mid-19th century, the Syracuse home of the Syracuse lived up to Webster's description, too. On October l , I Reverend Jermain W. Loguen was a welcoming refuge 1851 , several months after Webster delivered an antagonistic for fugitive slaves. Loguen, who escaped from slavery speech in the city, abolitionists and other residents staged a in Tennessee in 1834 and later settled in Syracuse, openly rebellion to free fugitive slave William "Jerry" Henry from advertised his residence as a station for slaves on the run, the custody of federal marshals. In turn, the "Jerry Rescue" providing them with shelter and Underground Railroad con­ became a potent symbol of the antislavery movement. nections leading them to Canada and freedom. With the sup­ The exhibition explored the Jerry Rescue and other key port of local abolitionists, Loguen reportedly helped as many antislavery events in Syracuse history through artifacts and as l ,500 slaves. "During much of this period, he was at risk documents that La Moy gathered in collaboration with the himself," says curator William T.
    [Show full text]
  • Forequal Rights
    George Boyer Vashon, 1824-1878: Black Educator, Poet, Fighter for Equal Rights Part One Catherine M.Hanchett contemporaries of Frederick Douglass in the struggle for equality, the contributions of Martin R. Delany, Lewis AMONGWoodson, John Mercer Langston, William G. Allen,and John S. Rock have been traced by present-day historians. George Boyer Vashon worked with these Northern black leaders, striving to foster elevation of his race by education, agitation for equal rights, and demonstration to the forces of prejudice that skin color has nothing to do with talent or intellect. Douglass's efforts received international recognition; Vashon' s endeavors, perhaps from his own choice, were known only to "the few kindred spirits who took part inhis labors." l He seems to have written no published books, nor were his poems, essays, or speeches collected; only one extended correspondence has been located. Pittsburgh, Oberlin, Haiti The only son of John Bathan Vashon and his wife Anne, their fourth and youngest child, George Boyer Vashon was born on July 25, 1824, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 2 John, a master barber, moved to Pittsburgh in 1829, where four years later he opened the City Baths on Third Street between Market and Ferry streets. 3 Untilhis death in December 1853, John led the self-help efforts of Pittsburgh's Jblack community, aided in maintenance of interracial harmony, and partici- Catherine M. Hanchett is senior assistant librarian at the Memorial Library of the State University of New York, College at Cortland.—Editor 1 George B. Vashon (hereafter referred to as GV), "Conservatism and Change/' Oberlin Evangelist 6 (Apr.
    [Show full text]
  • Abolition Lesson Plan
    ABOLITION MOVEMENT Introduction The city of Syracuse, New York, was one of the major points of access to Grades: 7-8 Materials the “Underground Railroad,” which wasn’t a real railroad, but a vast secret » Primary Source Document: A network of abolitionists who helped escaped slaves from the South reach Public Address Celebrating the their freedom in Canada. In this lesson, students will learn about the Rescue of a Slave Named Jerry. abolition movement from the Jerry Rescue, which was an illegal rescue of » Analysis Worksheet. a fugitive slave by the citizens of Syracuse in 1851. Standards NY STATE STANDARD 1: HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES AND NEW YORK Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York. COMMON CORE: CC6-8RH/SS2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. COMMON CORE: CC6-8WH/SS/S/TS2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes. AASL STANDARDS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY LEARNER: 2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge. Learning Objectives Using a primary source related to the abolition movement, students will: » Learn about primary sources, what they are and how they can be used to help understand the past.
    [Show full text]
  • Jerry Rescue, Syracuse, NY Lib Lib
    1851. The Jerry Rescue, Syracuse, NY libwww.syr.edu/digital/exhibits/g/GerritSmith/jerry.htm libwww.syr.edu/digital/exhibits/g/GerritSmith/index.htm Leaders of the lStracuse area Abolition movement, including Underground Railroad Stationmaster Jermain Loguen , organized a local committee to thwart enforcement of the recently adopted Fugitive Slave Law. On October 1, 1851, federal marshals from Rochester, Auburn, Syracuse, and Canandaigua, accompanied by the local police, arrested a man who called himself Jerry. Jerry, also known as William Henry, was working as a barrel maker, and was arrested at his workplace. He was originally told the charge was theft until after he was in manacles. On being informed that he was being arrested under the Fugitive Slave Law, he put up substantial resistance, but was subdued. Word of the arrest quickly reached the Liberty Party Convention at a nearby church. An immediate effort to free the prisoner was unsuccessful, and though he escaped to the street in irons, he was rapidly recaptured. The arraignment was put off until evening and relocated to a larger room. A large crowd gathered in the street, this time equipped for a more serious rescue attempt. With a battering ram the door was broken in and despite pistol shots out the window by one of the deputy marshals, it became clear that the crowd was too large and determined to be resisted. The prisoner was surrendered, and one deputy marshal broke his arm jumping from a window to escape the crowd. The injured prisoner was hidden in the city for several days in the home of a local butcher know for his anti- abolitionist sentiments, and later taken in a wagon to Oswego, where he crossed Lake Ontario into Canada.
    [Show full text]
  • An American Story - the JERRY RESCUE of 1851
    An American Story - THE JERRY RESCUE of 1851 Connections to Women’s Rights Activists There is an often untold story of bravery and conflict that took place less than 50 miles away from Seneca Falls, NY, the site of the first Women’s Rights Convention. This is the story of The Jerry Rescue. When you hear the story, you will find many connections between people who were active in Seneca Falls and the Abolition movement to end slavery. On September 18, 1850, the United States Congress passed a law called the Fugitive Slave Act. This law said that all runaway slaves had to be returned to their masters in the South, even if they had gained their freedom by escaping to Northern “free states”. Many people in the North were angry about this law, and some Abolitionists (people who fought against slavery) declared that they would not follow the law, but continue to help freed slaves escape to Canada. On October 1st, 1851, an Abolitionist political party called the Liberty Party was holding an Anti- Slavery Convention in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse was well known for its Abolitionist activities. Many escaped slaves felt safe here. The very same day, a former slave from Missouri named William “Jerry” Henry, who was working in Syracuse as a cooper, or barrel maker, was arrested by Federal Marshals under the Fugitive Slave Law. What followed was the largest and most shocking outpouring of anger toward slavery and the South that the North had ever seen. What followed became known as “The Jerry Rescue”. Click on the links below to read the story of the Jerry Rescue of 1851, then go on to the activity Making Connections.
    [Show full text]