Catch Gateway To Freedom: The Hidden History Of The Underground Railroad Fabricated By Eric Foner Presented As File

academic, slightly dry, but pleasantly readable, Gateway's scope is smaller than the title suggests, Foner's focus is on New York City's antislavery movement, and touches on Pennsylvania, upstate New York and New England only to the extent that they interact with the NYC movements.
And, since he sticks to documentary evidence, much of which was destroyed after the Fugitive Slave Act ofmade aiding fugitives even riskier, the book is short on experiences of actual "passengers".
But the politics of antislavery are well addressed and eyeopening for me, There were bitter arguments over whether relocation of former slaves to Africa should be promoted, and even over whether money should be spent on aiding individual fugitives.
More than any other scholar, Eric Foner has influenced our understanding of America's history, Now, making brilliant use of extraordinary evidence, the Pulitzer Prizewinning historian once again reconfigures the national saga of American slavery and freedom.


A deeply entrenched institution, slavery lived on legally and commercially even in the northern states that had abolished it after the American Revolution.
Slaves could be found in the streets of New York well after abolition, traveling with owners doing business with the city's major banks, merchants, and manufacturers.
New York was also home to the Norths largest free black community, making it a magnet for fugitive slaves seeking refuge, Slave catchers and gangs of kidnappers roamed the city, seizing free blacks, often children, and sending them south to slavery,

To protect fugitives and fight kidnappings, the city's free blacks worked with white abolitionists to organize the New York Vigilance Committee in.
In thes vigilance committees proliferated throughout the North and began collaborating to dispatch fugitive slaves from the upper South, Washington, and Baltimore, through Philadelphia and New York, to Albany, Syracuse, and Canada.
These networks of antislavery resistance, centered on New York City, became known as the underground railroad, Forced to operate in secrecy by hostile laws, courts, and politicians, the citys undergroundrailroad agents helped more than,fugitive slaves reach freedom betweenand.
Until now, their stories have remained largely unknown, their significance little understood,

Building on fresh evidenceincluding a detailed record of slave escapes secretly kept by Sydney Howard Gay, one of the key organizers in New YorkFoner elevates the underground railroad from folklore to sweeping history.
The story is inspiringfull of memorable characters making their first appearance on the historical stageand significantthe controversy over fugitive slaves inflamed the sectional crisis of thes.
It eventually took a civil war to destroy American slavery, but here at last is the story of the courageous effort to fight slavery by "practical abolition," person by person, family by family.
This is the second of Foner's books I've read, and once again his subject is more interesting than his treatment of it.
His initial focus is as much on the internecine squabbles among different New York abolitionist groups as on how any of them, or various individuals, assisted fugitive slaves.
Foner does eventually make his way to the latter topic, Overall, I learned quite a bit about how the citizens of various states approached the question of whether to help the slaves trying to escape, or the owners trying to recapture them.
There is also a good deal of detail about the Fugitive Slave Act, its precursors, and where and how it was and was not successfully enforced.
At times, I was frustrated with the weight given to NYC and for a while it almost seems like too much background material.
Yet, after finishing this book, I understand more and know more than simply Harriet Tubman, Rich in information. This is a superb description of the rise of the informal network that helped thousands of slaves reach freedom, Prof. Foner locates the rise of the underground railroad in the context of the national politics of Washington and the local politics of the Abolition movement.
He discusses the bravery, ingenuity and grim determination shown by many previously unsung heroes of the railroad, Many members of the black community, both free and slave, risked their lives to help others escape, It moved me greatly reading of their courage,

I live in New York City and am engaged in the supporting immigrants facing and fighting deportation, In reading Gateway to Freedom, I'm struck by the feeling of deja vu all over again, Slavecatchers swept suspected runaway slaves off the street and sent south, fugitive slaves had to made agonizing choices between staying with their families in slavery or trying to escape alone.
Families where shattered, a minority of voices created a steady drumbeat against the inhumanity of slavery that eventually lead to the Civil War.


This is an excellent book by a very fine historian and I would strongly recommend it to anyone with either an interest in the Civil War or an interest in how the same dynamic is playing out today in the United States.
I have no doubt that extensive research lies behind this book, I do not doubt its accuracy, It is filled with details about the growth of antislavery organizations, but as the book clearly states the Underground Railroad was in reality an "umbrella association" of independent, sometimes competing groups which very much relied on the efforts of single individuals.
It was not controlled from the top, The book focuses upon the antislavery proponents that lived in New York, This is partially explained by the fact that New York was home to the North's largest free black community, but New York plays such a prominent role that this should be indicated in the title.
In addition the Underground Railroad was not hidden everyone knew of it, The title is misleading, and it implies that you will be given a more exciting story than what is delivered,

The book description goes on to say that ", . . the city s undergroundrailroad agents helped more than,fugitive slaves reach freedom betweenand, Until now, their stories have remained largely unknown, . . " The central focus of this book is not the plight of these fugitives, Their stories are primarily collected in one chapter, chapter seven, near the Gateway to Freedom's end, No, the main focus is instead a plethora of historical details of the growth of the movement, its weak organization, its factional divisions, its agents, funding and slaverys ties with business.
Relevant laws and to what extent they were actually enforced, court proceedings and supportive publications are covered in detail, The book is rather dry,

The book lacks structure, It would be easier to remember all the laws, fugitive cases, leaders and controversies if the text had been better organized into a more cohesive structure.
The details become a jumble in my head, There are quotes that are of little importance and other superfluous information too, Better editing please.

So the Underground Railroad saved abouttofugitives, the numbers being extremely hard to verify, but the slave population wasmillion in

the South.
.benefited. Of course it was still important, but it was weakly organized and depended to a very large extent on the efforts of private individuals.
All of this is good to know,

The narration of the audiobook, by J, D. Jackson, was clear and easy to follow, as long as I didn't fall asleep,

Now I am going to read sitelinkTwelve Years a Slave, It will be good to understand the laws and conditions of life in the antebellum era as a background to the more personal tale of the second book.




ETA: Thought I should mention that themillion figure is not found in the book by Foner! My source is instead the book sitelinkCapital in the TwentyFirst Century bysitelinkThomas Piketty.
On pageone can read the following: "Bythe proportion of slaves in the overall population of the United States had fallen to aroundpercent aboutmillion slaves in a total population ofmillion, owing to rapid population growth in the North and West.
In the South, however, the proportion remained at:million slaves andmillion whites for a total population ofmillion, "
.