People of the Underground Railroad: A Biographical Dictionary

(Hardback)

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Description

The Underground Railroad was perhaps the best example in U.S. history of blacks and whites working together for the common good. People of the Underground Railroad is the largest in-depth collection of profiles of those individuals involved in the spiriting of black slaves to freedom in the northern states and Canada beginning around 1800 and lasting to the early Civil War years. One hundred entries introduce people who had a significant role in the rescuing, harboring, or conducting of the fugitivesfrom abolitionists, evangelical ministers, Quakers, philanthropists, lawyers, judges, physicians, journalists, educators, to novelists, feminists, and barbersas well as notable runaways. The selections are geographically representational of the broad railroad network. There is renewed interest in the Underground Railroad, exemplified by the new National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati and energized scholarly inquiry. People of the Underground Railroad presents authoritative information gathered from the latest research and established sources, many of them from period publications. Designed for student research and general browsing, in-depth essay entries include further reading. Numerous sidebars complement the entries. A timeline, illustrations, and map help put the profiles into context.

Reviews

. . . this inexpensive but authoritative guide provides high school, public and academic libraries with an affordable introduction to a historically important movement. * Lawrence Looks at Books *
Helpful cross-references demonstrate the connections among individuals involved with the Underground Railroad. Useful back matter includes entry lists arranged alphabetically, geographically, and by the role the individual played in the movement, and state and general indexes. . . . it will be valuable where the Underground Railroad is studied in detail. * School Library Journal *
People of the Underground Railroad is recommended for those seeking in-depth, article-length biographies of those who assisted slaves to freedom, and the people with whom they associated. * ARBA *
The books layout enhances its reader-friendly touch as well as its importance as a resource guide. . . . The biographical entries, many accompanied with sharp images of the individual listed, are captivatingly well written. . . . suitable for students at the high school and college levels as well as the general reading public. * MultiCultural Review *

Author Bio

Tom Calarco is an independent scholar specializing in the Underground Railroad. He is the author of The Underground Railroad in the Adirondack Region (2004) among other works.