Front Line of Freedom: African Americans and the Forging of the Underground Railroad in the Ohio Valley (Ohio River Valley Series)

"The Underground Railroad, an often misunderstood antebellum institution, has been viewed as a simple combination of mainly white "conductors" and black "passengers." Keith P. Griffler takes a new, battlefield-level view of the war against American slavery as he reevaluates one of its front lines: the Ohio River, the longest commercial dividing line between slavery and freedom. In shifting the focus from the much discussed white-led "stations" to the primarily black-led frontline struggle along the Ohio, Griffler reveals for the first time the crucial importance of the freedom movement in the river's port cities and towns. Front Line of Freedom fully examines America's first successful interracial freedom movement, which proved to be as much a struggle to transform the states north of the Ohio as those to its south. In a climate of racial proscription, mob violence, and white hostility, the efforts of Ohio Valley African Americans to establish and maintain communities became inextricably linked to the steady stream of fugitives crossing the region. As Griffler traces the efforts of African Americans to free themselves, Griffler provides a window into the process by which this clandestine network took shape and grew into a powerful force in antebellum America. In Front Line Of Freedom, Keith P. Griffler Shifts The Focus Away, From The Usual Emphasis Placed On Support Operations, Or Stations, Run By Whites Along Routes Used To Conduct Fugitives Into The Northern States Or Into Canada. Instead, He Stresses The Essential Role Of African Americans In Ohio River Port Communities. Front Line Of Freedom Unfolds The Surprising History Of An Interracial Struggle Against Slavery. Refuting Old Notions Of Whites Working And African Americans Riding On The Underground Railroad, Griffler Reveals Meaningful Collaboration Between Blacks And Whites At Every Level Of The Enterprise. Long Before Soldiers Donned Blue And Gray Uniforms, The Activities Of Free African Americans In The Ohio River Valley Made The Region An Initial Battleground In The Protracted Fight To End The Institution Of Slavery In America.--jacket. River Of Slavery, River Of Freedom -- No Promised Land -- Home Over Jordan -- Band Of Angels -- Egypt's Border -- Prelude To Exodus. Keith P. Griffler. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [151]-163) And Index. In Entangled by White Supremacy: Reform in World War I-era South Carolina, Janet G. Hudson analyzes World War I-era South Carolina, a state whose white minority maintained political power by rigidly enforcing white supremacy over its African American majo River of Slavery River of Freedom xv No Promised Land 8 Home Over Jordan 26 Band of Angels 39 Egypts Border 59 Prelude to Exodus 83 Notes 93 Bibliography 113 Index 119