jjares reviewed The Underground Railroad: A Captivating Guide to the Network of Routes, Places, and People in the United States That Helped Free African Americans during the Nineteenth Century on + 3306 more book reviews
When offered this book, I decided not to read it because I thought I knew about the Underground Railroad. But I picked it up and decided to thumb through the chapter headings. In seconds, I was reading and finding information I didn't know on nearly every page. This book was so interesting, I read it in one sitting.
By reading a great deal of world history, I was familiar with the concept that prisoners of war were often turned into slaves by the conquering groups. Men were busy enslaving others from the earliest times; the Romans were especially adept at bringing home slaves for their homes and farms. It is interesting to watch, through this book, how slavery slowly became less acceptable. It was the Age of Enlightenment (of the 1600 & the 1700s) that made people think about freedom in different ways.
Having recently read Harriet Tubman and Frederich Douglass' life stories, I thought I understood the system of sheltering and moving former slaves. However, this book takes a deeper look at famous, infamous, and unheralded heroes of that time and place. For instance, I was surprised to find out that John Brown was part of the Underground Railroad (actually, he was a second-generation stationmaster) before he turned to more violent tactics to promote his beliefs.
In this Captivating History title, a reader learns about the British, the Quakers, the free, and the slaves that all fought against people owning others. It is a memorable story.
By reading a great deal of world history, I was familiar with the concept that prisoners of war were often turned into slaves by the conquering groups. Men were busy enslaving others from the earliest times; the Romans were especially adept at bringing home slaves for their homes and farms. It is interesting to watch, through this book, how slavery slowly became less acceptable. It was the Age of Enlightenment (of the 1600 & the 1700s) that made people think about freedom in different ways.
Having recently read Harriet Tubman and Frederich Douglass' life stories, I thought I understood the system of sheltering and moving former slaves. However, this book takes a deeper look at famous, infamous, and unheralded heroes of that time and place. For instance, I was surprised to find out that John Brown was part of the Underground Railroad (actually, he was a second-generation stationmaster) before he turned to more violent tactics to promote his beliefs.
In this Captivating History title, a reader learns about the British, the Quakers, the free, and the slaves that all fought against people owning others. It is a memorable story.
