David Ruggles (1810-1849) was one of the most heroic--and has been one of the most often overlooked--figures of the early abolitionist movement in America. Graham Russell Gao Hodges provides the first biography of this African American activist; writer; publisher; and hydrotherapist who secured liberty for more than six hundred former bond people; the most famous of whom was Frederick Douglass. A forceful; courageous voice for black freedom; Ruggles mentored Douglass; Sojourner Truth; and William Cooper Nell in the skills of antislavery activism. As a founder of the New York Committee of Vigilance; he advocated a "practical abolitionism" that included civil disobedience and self-defense in order to preserve the rights of self-emancipated enslaved people and to protect free blacks from kidnappers who would sell them into slavery in the South.Hodges's narrative places Ruggles in the fractious politics and society of New York; where he moved among the highest ranks of state leaders and spoke up for common black New Yorkers. His work on the Committee of Vigilance inspired many upstate New York and New England whites; who allied with him to form a network that became the Underground Railroad. Hodges's portrait of David Ruggles establishes the abolitionist as an essential link between disparate groups--male and female; black and white; clerical and secular; elite and rank-and-file--recasting the history of antebellum abolitionism as a more integrated and cohesive movement than is often portrayed.
#1018182 in Books The University of North Carolina Press 2007-03-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 .76 x 8.72 x 10.80l; 2.37 #File Name: 0807858250256 pages
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Comprehensive Collection of John White's WorkBy Frank H. SandersThis is an extraordinary (and the first) compilation of John White's drawings of people and animals in the New World. A gifted artist; White drew and painted what he saw with an eye that seems modern; despite the fact that he lived and worked 400 years ago.This book is by far the best existing resource for seeing White's work. It could be filed in a library under any of the following headings: art; colonial history; anthropology; American Indians or North American Natural History. This book belongs in any good collection of books on any of those topics.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. It's Not All ThatBy KundiAfter reading the reviews I expected more turns out it's okay.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. This is a wonderfully illustrated companion piece to the British Museum's complete set ...By Jason GThis is a wonderfully illustrated companion piece to the British Museum's complete set of John White's water colors. White; the Royal Governor of the "Lost Colony" on Roanoke Island; was a keen observer of the flora; fauna and native peoples of what later became North Carolina.For those wanting a first reflections of that time; when the British Empire was first stretching out to what became the United States; this is a great resource and well recommended.
