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Sarah Parker Redmond's Unusual Life

Sarah Parker Redmond led a life that was extremely unusual for African-American women of her times. Born into a financially secure family in 1824, Redmond would grow up to become abolitionist. As one of several African-Americans who was employed as an agent of an abolitionist society, she lectured in the northeast United States and Canada. In 1859, Redmond left for England and gave anti-slavery lectures there and later also included Ireland and Scotland on her circuit. Redmond eventually settled in Italy where she lived until her death in 1894.

Harriet Tubman Implements Strategies on the Underground Railround

Widely-known for leading over 300 slaves to freedom as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman used clever strategies that led to her remarkable success. For instance, she would leave on a Saturday night because escaped slave notices couldn't be published until Monday.

Abolitionist Harriet Jacobs publishes account of slave experiences

Abolitionist Harriet Jacobs published her experiences as a slave in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl under the pen name Linda Brent. In the book, she recounted how she spent seven years hiding in a dark crawl space that measured approximately nine feet long and seven feet wide. The crawl space had a sloping ceiling that was three feet high at its largest end.

Sojourner Truth Brings Court Case to Free Son

Famed abolitionist Sojourner Truth, with the help of the Quakers, sued to free her son Peter who had been illegally sold into slavery. Peter was to be emancipated under the law of his state of residence (New York). Instead the 5-year-old was sold to an Alabama owner. The court process took several months, but Truth prevailed and Peter was returned to her.

New feature: Theme of the Week

This week we're introducing a new feature, the Theme of the Week. This week's theme is women in the abolitionist movement.

Senator Blanche K. Bruce

Blanche K. Bruce was the first African-American to serve a full term in the United States Senate. Republican Bruce represented Mississippi from 1875 to 1881. (Hiram Revels was the first African-American senator when he completed the term of former senator Jefferson Davis.)

Many African-Americans Enlist in the Union Army

By the end of the American Civil War, more than 186,000 African-Americans had enlisted into the Union Army. Black soldiers were segregated into their own regiments and were officially known as United States Colored Troops. Most regiments were led by white officers.

Source: From Slavery to Freedom