The Freedom Ring

The Fugitive Slave Act passed by Congress in September 1850, which increased federal and free-state responsibility for the recovery of fugitive slaves . The Story of How Henry Ward Beecher became an Anti-Slavery Activist Adapted passages from “Henry Ward Beecher: An American Portrait” published in 1887. Henry Ward Beecher was asked by a group of abolitionists to help in presenting two slave girls who were sisters, the Edmonson sisters, to a large audience at the Brooklyn Tabernacle , to present their case with the objective of purchasing their freedom. It was said that these girls had previously experienced some traumatizing incident and those abolitionist who found out about it, wanted to purchase their freedom before they were sold off “down the river.” At the time, Henry Ward Beecher did not talk publicly much about politics or anti-slavery themes. However, that all started to change once he stepped foot on that stage at the Tabernacle. Below we find the story of that night: It...

The Story of the Invasion of a Slave State, told by Henry Ward Beecher John Brown an Abolitionist — Known for his raid on Harpers Ferry, 1859 Adapted Passages from “The Life and Work of Henry Ward Beecher” published in 1887 In 1859 occurred the unlawful invasion of a Slave State for the avowed purpose of liberating its slaves, by John Brown (abolitionist) and his associates an attempt, though really insignificant from a numerical point of view, which aroused and embittered the entire South against the North, for pro-slavery men thereupon naturally concluded that Brown was secretly encouraged and abetted by the Abolitionists of the North. The false nature of these accusations was clearly demonstrated in a sermon entitled “ The Nation’s Duty to Slavery,” in which Brown’s entire career was reviewed by the Abolitionist preacher, Henry Ward Beecher , and from which some extracts are here presented : John Brown, ca. 1858. National Archives “An old man, kind at heart, indus...