“To be ignorant of the lives of the most celebrated men of antiquity is to continue in a state of childhood all our days.” ~ Plutarch
Democracy is not a thing. Democracy is the people who promote Life, Liberty and Freedom for all people in our One Union. That is what makes it Great.
It is good for us from time to time to remember the accurate facts of the history of the United States of America. Since the fledgling-first footsteps into Liberty for all people, our Freedom-born country is set upon the firm foundation which our fragile Democracy currently lies.
The first colonies banded together to form a more perfect union, with the good of all as the glue binding them together. This is our aim today, for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all humankind.
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 7 of MYSTERY OF THE STURBRIDGE KEYS, my historical fiction book out in its second printing in 2016. This fictional adventure takes place in a setting of Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Old Sturbridge Village is a real living history museum today, which is used as the setting to tell of the accurate history touching the lives of: President George Washington, President Thomas Jefferson, Daniel Webster, President Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, President James Madison, Edward Coles, President Zachary Taylor, President John Tyler, President Martin Van Buren, Stephen Myers, William the Conqueror, William Strother, Charlemagne, the Underground Railroad, Samuel L. Hill, Robert Carter III, President Andrew Jackson, Harriet Tubman, President Jimmy Carter, President Barak Obama, and the Quaker commity.
The fictional characters who take part in explaining our historical roots included in this chapter are: fictional Quaker characters of Lily and Gabe – educational instructors for the Underground Railroad; young boys Abe and Greg and Greg’s mother Sarah interacting with the instructors; among other particiants in the Underground Railroad workshop.
This is important history not to forget.
“Are you aware that on April 20, 2016, the United States Treasury Department announced they intend to put the picture of Harriet Tubman on the front of the United States $20 bill, replacing former president Andrew Jackson, and putting him on the back of it? It is supposed to be coming out in the year 2020,” Sarah asks, unsure if she should cross timelines like this.
“We are portraying Old Sturbridge Village in the year 1830. President Andrew Jackson is our president at this current moment. He was just elected last year, in 1829. I can tell you he remains our President until 1837, when Martin Van Buren is elected president. By the way, there is an expression everyone uses today that is attributed to President Van Buren. Does anyone know what this is?” Gabe questions.
A spindly old woman in a beautifully woven shawl raises her hand and says, “OK. The expression is ‘OK.’ He was from Kinderhook, New York, sometimes referred to as Old Kinderhook. ‘OK’ clubs were created to support his political campaigns. The expression ‘OK’ came to mean ‘all right.’”
“When he was seventeen years old and before he was President, Andrew Jackson became well-known for his role in the Battle of 1812. He won at the Battle of New Orleans when the British army was invading there. But in 1818, President Jackson also invaded the Seminole Indian Tribe in Spanish Florida,” the spindly woman says in dismay.
“Yes,” Gabe agrees. “Did you know that the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida is a federally recognized Indian tribe, the only tribe in America who never signed a peace treaty?”
“Yes,” the spindly woman says. “Florida then gets transferred from Spain to the United States.”
“Correct,” Lily says. You know your history. Your modern-day money is reflecting that. These conductors have a tough and dangerous job. First the slaves have to make a getaway from their owners by night. They know if they keep their eye on the North Star in the sky, they will reach the northern states. Harriet Tubman pretends to be a slave and goes to the plantation, then guides them on their way, since she is a former slave. She is a Union spy. She returns nineteen times and helps more than three hundred slaves to freedom. In the process, she threatens to shoot any slaves who lose heart and want to turn back, which can foil the whole escape plan.”
Abe and Greg exchange horrified glances.
“Second, the operators put themselves in a very precarious position by helping the slaves. Operators are fined hundreds, and even thousands of dollars, an exorbitant amount of money at this time. In this area, not only did the Underground Railroad operate openly, former slaves, like Stephen Myers of Upstate New York, writes his own newspaper, Northern Star and Freeman’s Advocate, telling about his work to help other slaves escape,” Lily continues.
“That’s good!” a Mexican, Spanish speaking teenager exclaims in broken English.
“Vigilance committees are formed within communities for the purpose of aiding runaways often openly advertised their meetings. These same words mean different things in different periods in history when people take the law into their own hands for non-existent or corrupt justice. Any questions?” Lily asks.
The tall black man in the doorway asks in exasperation, “Aren’t there any famous people in the southern states who were against slavery?”
“That’s a very interesting question. Has anyone heard of Robert Carter III?” Lily inquires of her interested audience.
No one answers.
“This is a wealthy and prominent individual, a member of the planter class in Virginia. He is the wealthiest man in the colonies and has owned hundreds of slaves for the past forty years, since 1791. But he is losing his popularity because now he wants to free the slaves. He says he has become convinced that to keep slaves is contrary to the true principles of religion and justice. He even feels it is his duty to manumit them,” Lily explains.
“What does manumit mean?” Abe asks.
“Manumit means to release from slavery. Carter not only condemns slavery, he actually does something about it. He is freeing his slaves, but only 15 of the oldest slaves each year. He also believes there is only one race, the human race.” Lily scans her guests, accessing their attention spans.
“Why release only fifteen slaves each year?” Greg asks.
“This rich businessman from Virginia, not only releases them, he cares about them. If he releases too many slaves at once into the hostile South, they might not find enough work to support themselves. He carefully releases fifteen slaves each year, so he can help them find work and survive. He just wrote a book that is still around called, Deed of Gift. Some of the children of the slaves are still being released in 1830. We help them through this Sturbridge Village area. Carter released approximately five hundred slaves, which is the largest emancipation by one person in American history,” Lily boasts.
“Carter is so wealthy that President Jackson has borrowed money from him. President George Washington’s nephew proposed to his daughter. Former President Jimmy Carter is a descendant of his. Robert Carter III’s nickname was King. He was descended from William Strother, on his father’s side. Everyone knew Robert Carter III was descended from English royalty, going back to Charlemagne and William the Conqueror, and many other English kings. Presidents Zachary Taylor and John Tyler were also descended from Strother. Former President Jimmy Carter also is related to former President Barak Obama. They are eighth cousins,” boasts Lily, proud that the United States of America truly is the melting pot of the world. She takes a drink of water and continues.
The guests gasp at the little-known revelation.
“Do you know of anyone else who has helped the slaves?” Lily asks.
Again, no response.
“Let’s learn about Edward Coles. He was President James Madison’s secretary in the year 1809, and neighbor to Thomas Jefferson, our third president. After Madison’s presidency, Coles sells his Virginia estate and moves to the Illinois Territory where slavery is not permitted. Next, he releases his slaves, then sets them up as farmers. Does this sound familiar to anyone?” Lily asks.
“Seems to me,” the tall black man says, “I heard Jefferson suggested all slaves be freed and removed from the United States. Illinois was only a territory then. Coles must have listened to him.”
“I think you are right. Don’t forget, it is not the case that all presidents who owned slaves, wanted to promote slavery. What else did they have to consider?” Lily asks.
“Their political careers,” the tall black man answers, shaking his head.
“Was the Reverse Underground Railroad active here?” Sarah asks.
“Yes. Not everyone remembers this,” Gabe says. “Unfortunately, yes, in some northern states bordering on the Ohio River, but not so much here in this location. It is good to know who your friends are though. There are profits to be made. Black men and women, whether or not they had ever been slaves, are sometimes kidnapped and hidden away in homes, barns or other buildings until they are taken into the South and sold as slaves.”
The guests sigh a disgusting groan.
“Keep heart though,” Lily encourages. “Samuel L. Hill is a local abolitionist. He just purchased two properties, the Ross Farm and his house which he calls the Samuel L. Hill House. They are both in Northampton as part of his utopian community called the Northampton Association of Education and Industry. It’s about nine towns to the northwest from here.”
“Northampton also has the Elisha Hammond House, the Dorcey-Jones House, and the Hall Judd House, if the other safe houses are full. The Unitarian minister, Rev. Rufus Ellis also has a house on 48 Pomeroy Terrace in Northampton that serves as a station too. Exhausted slaves, running for their lives, come in from the sea, landing in Boston. But some come in by land from the south up through New York and Connecticut. Worcester is the key point northwards in the Underground Railroad system. We help out here as best we can between Worcester and Northampton. Sturbridge Village a good half-way point,” Gabe adds.
“It’s been one hundred, forty-four years now that our philanthropy has been flourishing. We Quakers are the first organization in history to ban slaveholding. We’ve created several groups that promote emancipation and abolition societies, like the American Anti-Slavery Society; the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society and the Female Anti-Slavery Society,” Lily says.
“Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster gave a speech known as the Second Reply to Hayne, where he famously thundered “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!” In Webster’s speech on January 26, 1830 before the United States Senate, he described the federal government as: “made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people.” Does this sound familiar?” Lily asks.
“Yes,” Abe answers. “President Lincoln spoke of this in the Gettysburg Address.”
Lily nods. “In 1830, Abraham Lincoln has not been elected President yet. He is elected as our sixteenth president on November 6, 1860. But he is very interested in Webster’s 1830 speech, so much so, that he re-phrases the conclusion of the Gettysburg Address with, ‘… and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.’ It is worth mentioning that the Springfield Republican newspaper, from just a few towns west of here, published the Gettysburg Address in its entirety, saying it was a ‘perfect gem, deep in feeling, compact in thought and expression, tasteful and elegant in every word and comma.’”
Lily adds, “Webster also noted, ‘This government, Sir, is the independent offspring of the popular will. It is not the creature of State legislatures; nay, more, if the whole truth must be told, the people brought it into existence, established it, and have hitherto supported it, for the very purpose, amongst others, of imposing certain salutary restraints on State sovereignties.’ Union responsibilities and State’s rights were just as important to people back then as it is today.”
Abe pauses for a moment, worried about Grammy Rose, and who will take care of her. Grammy Rose was just asking his Mom yesterday what will happen if her Social Security gets cut.
“Southern states, calling themselves the Confederate States, want state’s rights to slavery, the impetus for the Civil War which is brewing in 1830. It is the reason for the Underground Railroad here in Old Sturbridge Village. President Lincoln is well aware that slavery is illegal in England since 1772, was abolished in New York in 1827, and also in the English colonies in other parts of the world in 1833. Sadly, the United States of America lags behind social progress and justice until January 1, 1863 when Republican President Abraham Lincoln issues the presidential Emancipation Proclamation, freeing more than three million slaves across the entire Union. Even though it is little later than the time we are portraying here, does anyone remember the date that the Civil War and the Underground Railroad finally ends?” Lily asks.
“The Civil War ended May 9, 1865,” the man answers, sporting the brown woolen hat with ear muffs.
“I think that is one of Brie’s high school’s history teachers,” Greg whispers in his mother’s ear.
“You are correct,” Lily says.
“Did you start any schools here?” Abe asks.
“Yes. We are interested in the education and the social progress of freedmen. We raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for freeman’s relief and established many freedmen’s schools,” Lily explains.
“I’m glad the Quakers helped,” Greg says, firmly shaking Gabe’s large hand as they leave the Religious Society of Friend’s Meeting House.
They step out into the carol-filled, brisk air of the night, looking to the right and to the left for their long-lost family.” ~ end of excerpt
The ideals for freedom and equality of all people is just as revelent today as it was during the days of the Underground Railroad. The Civil War united a broken country, from Northern and Southern friction, into one United States of America. The ideals of Freedom, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for all people are tested throughout history.
Democracy stands firm when we stand up for all the principles Democracy encompasses. Democracy crumbles into meaningless words when we ignore the very foundation upon which a fragile Democracy rests.
Democracy is not a thing. Democracy is the people who promote Life, Liberty and Freedom for all people in our One Union. That is what makes it Great.
God Bless Everyone
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