Topic: Abolition
Abolition, abolitionists, anti-slavery, The Liberator, the colonial movement
William Cooper Nell, the United States’ first Black historian, was an intellectual and abolitionist who became an integral part of The Liberator’s staff and advocate for Black rights. He was also the first Black person to serve in the federal civil service, and was deeply involved in desegregating Boston schools.
Col. George Middleton was an African American Revolutionary War soldier, a “Prince Hall Freemason,” and civil rights activist, who’s home is now part of the Black Heritage Trail. He was born in 1735 and died in 1815.
Lewis Hayden was an escaped slave who became an active abolitionist and assisted many other escaping slaves through the underground railroad.
Prince Hall was a leader in Boston’s free black community on the North Slope and Copp’s Hill. He was one of the United States’ most vocal early abolitionist voices and a founder of Prince Hall Freemasonry. Hall advocated for black education and equality, running a school and making a wide array of arguments in service of bringing the fundamental promises of the Revolution to all Americans.
Primus Hall was an abolitionist, soldier, school master, and leader in Boston’s post-colonial period.
William Lloyd Garrison, one of the most prominent white abolitionists before the Civil War, published The Liberator and shaped the debates that guided the anti-slavery movement. Garrison was held at Leverett Street Jail in the old West End for his own safety during one harrowing case of mob violence.
John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, intended to spark a violent uprising by enslaved people against their oppressors, was preceded by Brown’s efforts to acquire recruits and financial support. He received some assistance from abolitionist Lewis Hayden, who lived on the north slope of Beacon Hill with his wife, abolitionist Harriet Hayden.
