Book

Station Master on the Underground Railroad: The Life and Letters of Thomas Garrett

2009

Synopsis

Thomas Garrett, a Quaker from Wilmington, Delaware, had a genial disposition unless provoked to defend his strong anti-slavery beliefs. He believed strongly in the Underground Railroad and in helping slaves escape and chafed under the Quaker belief in non-violence. When he died in 1871, Wilmington's black community saluted him as "their Moses."

Station Master on the Underground Railroad was an important work in antebellum reform when it was first published in 1977. Author James McGowan disputed earlier arguments that white abolitionists were unified in their opposition to slavery and that they were largely responsible for the success of the Underground Railroad while the escaped slaves were helpless and frightened passengers who took advantage of a well-organized network. The present volume has been revised (in 2005) to include new information on Garrett's relationship with Harriet Tubman and the abolitionist newspaper editor William Lloyd Garrison. Now published in paperback, the book also gives readers a new perspective on Thomas Garrett, recognizing his shortcomings as well as the uncompromising nature of his Quaker faith.

Suggested Reading

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom

Celebrated for her exploits as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman has entered history as one of nineteenth-century America's most enduring and important figures. But just who was this remarkable woman? To John Brown, leader of the Harper's Ferry slave uprising, she was General T...

Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad is a gripping and accessible portrait of the heroic woman who guided more than 300 enslaved people to freedom. Harriet Tubman was born in slavery and dreamed of being free. She was willing to risk everything—including her own life—to see that dr...

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