Civil War And Harriet Beecher Stowe
Man's Fight for Freedom, A Perspective on Black History Month
By Bill Gay
Freedom is an elusive thing. To define it as an individual often involves looking back over one’s own life and the experiences we all have had. Canada has always been at the forefront of this desire to enjoy the benefits of freedom. This time of year when we celebrate Black History Month, is an opportunity to recall how far we have come, yet how far we still have to go. Much is taken for granted.
In the lifetime of many of us born after the end of the Second World War, we grew up hearing about the sacrifices to liberate nations, and thus, individuals from tyranny. The long march of the allies across Europe in 1944-1945 liberated many of the nationalities that make up our vast nation. The French, Belgians , Dutch and Germans had fallen under the Nazi jack boot. The propagator of this unbelievable evil, Adolf Hitler, killed himself and his wife hours before the Russian Army would have stormed his underground bunker.
Canada was involved in the fight against another, and just as odious evil, that of human slavery. No where are there more reminders of this dream to be free than in our local area. Well worth a visit is the North American Black Historical Museum in Amherstburg, the John Freeman Walls Historic Site and Underground Railway Museum near Essex, The Buxton National Historic Site at North Buxton, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Dresden.
After all these years, the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin carries with it all the weight of people who had no life of their own, had no rights to their children and families, and indeed, no right to the dignity that is the inherent possession of each person on God’s earth. The author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, wrote such a powerful saga that it sparked the American Civil War, a conflict that produced more casualties than any fought before. Black Americans using the path provided by the Underground Railway, found their way to Canada and freedom.
Many crossed the water from the US side stopping over on Middle Island and Pelee Island just ahead of the “slave catchers”. Even though the northern states were non-slavery territory, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it a federal crime to aid any black person seeking refuge from their master. Indeed, whites were admonished by this legislation to assist in their capture and swift return to the bondage of the southern states. Here in Essex County communities of run-a-way slaves were established at Gesto, New Canaan, Haiti, Marble Village, Gilgal, Mount Pleasant and Central Grove. After the Civil war ended, many returned to the United States, and these places became but a memory. Yet these brave people will never be forgotten.
Civil War And Harriet Beecher Stowe - News
The author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, wrote such a powerful saga that it sparked the American Civil War, a conflict that produced more casualties than any fought before. Black Americans using the path provided by the Underground
Others, encouraged by Josiah Henson, a schoolteacher at Dresden, Ont., whose escape from slavery inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, would serve in the cavalry, artillery and navy in every theatre of war.
The house the Beechers lived in on Gilbert Avenue is a museum called the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. Cincinnati annexed Walnut Hills in 1850. After the Civil War, the city built new roads and the neighborhood experienced a surge in business and
It tells the story in a way that even Mrs. [Harriet Beecher] Stowe cannot approach, because it tells the story to the eye." For our recent Civil War commemorative issue, we partnered with the National Portrait Gallery and gathered dozens of photos and
The house was the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe when she was writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Prejudice wasn't found only in the South, Strope said. Latham remembers blacks sitting in the backs of buses in the mid-1950s here in Ohio.