Bound for the Future: Child Heroes of the Underground Railroad

by Jonathan Shectman

Overview

Through careful, detailed consideration of a host of primary documents about the young activists who formed the Underground Railroad's underappreciated operational workforce, this book offers fresh insight to the complex question, "Who ended slavery?"

Bound for the Future: Child Heroes of the Underground Railroad illuminates the vital contributions of specific, underappreciated child activists within the extremely local circumstances of their daily work. It also provides meaningful context to the actions of these young activists within the much broader social practice of resisting slavery, and offers fresh insight into the complicated question of who was responsible for ending slavery. Through a thorough examination of these subjects, author Jonathan Shectman proves his central thesis: in many specific cases, children were the essential lifeblood of the Underground Railroad's operational workforce. This text will appeal to wide range of readers, including young students, educators, scholars, and anyone seeking a fresh perspective on civil rights, anti-slavery activism, and U.S. history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313397271
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/16/2012
Pages:	215
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jonathan Shectman is former editor of a series of science education books published by the National Science Resources Center.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Part I Radical, Young, and Quaker: Child Pioneers of the Underground 1

Chapter 1 The Dictates of Humanity 3

Chapter 2 Knowledge Unfits a Child to Be a Slave 27

Chapter 3 Ran Away from the Subscriber 45

Chapter 4 Tell Them I Love Them All 57

Part II Up Like Bucks: The Line through Ripley 77

Chapter 5 Let Not the Sun Go Down on Your Anger, My Boy 79

Chapter 6 Up Like Bucks: The Rankin Boys 91

Chapter 7 States of Matter Divide the States 109

Part III Taking Their Freedom: Young Free Blacks and Fugitive Children 129

Chapter 8 Deeds of Bold Daring 131

Chapter 9 Many Years under the Yoke 155

Chapter 10 The Conductor Was, Himself, Presently Enslaved 183

Epilogue: Slavery in Our Time 195

Selected Bibliography 201

Index 209

What People are Saying About This

Benjamin E. Wise

"Bound for the Future exudes the kind of energy and compassion that characterizes the best historical writing. Jonathan Shectman has written a beautiful book—one that is at once a pleasure to read and an unsettling call to action. Read this book for the vigor of its prose, the depth of its story, and the richness of its insights."