Category: Underground Railroad
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Bringing rigor to the Underground Railroad story
The noble failure Like most Americans my age, at least those who liked American History from early in their childhood, certain understanding were simply presumed straightforward. Among these acceptances was the purpose of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. I didn’t like what I knew of the law, but I understood that the slave states insisted…
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Levi Coffin House – Staying in focus
As a disclaimer, my views on this topic are my own and may not reflect those of The Levi Coffin House Association or the State of Indiana. Interpreting the past, not the present. Labors of love for an important story Two weeks from today I’ll be volunteering, as will every last volunteer we have, at…
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Levi Coffin House – family ties
The Levi Coffin House – family ties Bringing old memories into focus My own association with what is now the Levi Coffin House State Historic Site predates my earliest memories. The better part of my first five years was spent in the house catercorner from the old brick Federal style home where my mother’s sister…
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Indiana’s Underground Railroad after Nat Turner
The Ohio River separates Indiana from the slave state of Kentucky however, in 1831 it did not insulate the former state from the inherent issues surrounding the institutional bondage of human beings. Regional and interstate tensions were already straining relations on the border of Free and Slave states by the time blood of both blacks…