Slavery in the US

From Slave to Genius Inventor: The Untold Story of Andrew Jackson Beard

Andrew Jackson Beard was an African American inventor whose brilliance shone despite being born into a world that denied him education. A self-taught genius, Beard created life-saving innovations in agriculture and railroad engineering, leaving behind a legacy that still...

Rev. John Rankin: The American Pastor Who Helped More Than 2,000 Enslaved Africans Escape from Slavery

In an era when many pastors stood on the fence, or worse, used the Bible to justify slavery with verses like “Slaves, obey your masters as you would Jesus”, one man chose to defy both his peers and the...

Saint Frances Academy: The School Founded in 1828 to Educate Black Children Despite Widespread Opposition

Saint Frances Academy was founded in 1828 by Mary Elizabeth Lange, later known as Mother Mary Lange, at a time when educating Black people was frowned upon. It stands today as the first and oldest continually operating Black Catholic...

Harriet Jacobs: The Woman Who Hid in an Attic for Seven Years to Escape Slavery and Sexual Abuse

Harriet Jacobs’ story is one of the most extraordinary acts of survival in American history. To escape her master’s relentless sexual abuse and also slavery, she spent seven years hiding in a tiny attic, unable to stand or move...

York: The Enslaved African American Explorer Who Was Betrayed Back Into Slavery

York was an enslaved African American whose courage and skill helped the Lewis and Clark Expedition discover the vast lands of the Louisiana Territory and reach the Pacific Coast. He hunted, built shelters, navigated rivers, and won the admiration...

Rev. Theodore Parker: The Preacher Who Defended the Right of Enslaved Africans to Kill Their Masters in the Fight for Freedom

Theodore Parker was far from a typical 19th-century preacher. A bold reformer and one of the most outspoken voices against slavery in pre–Civil War America, he challenged both church and society with his radical beliefs. While most ministers of...

Amos Dresser: The Minister Who Was Arrested and Publicly Flogged for Opposing Slavery

Amos Dresser was a minister and abolitionist who, in 1835, while traveling in the South to raise money for his education, was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, and publicly whipped, not for any violent act, but for the “crime” of...

Scramble Auction: The Brutal Slave Sale Where Enslaved Africans Were Hunted Like Animals

The scramble auction was one of the most inhumane and chaotic forms of selling enslaved Africans during the transatlantic slave trade. This method of auction had a fixed price system: every captive cost the same, no bidding allowed. That...

Dred Scott: The Enslaved African Who Fought an 11-Year Legal Battle to Be Recognized as Human in America

Dred Scott was an enslaved African man in the United States who became the central figure in one of the most infamous Supreme Court cases in American history, Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). His life began in bondage, and...

Seneca Village: The Thriving Black Settlement in New York That Was Demolished to Build Central Park

Long before Central Park became New York City’s most iconic green space, its land was home to a thriving, self-sufficient settlement known as Seneca Village. Founded in 1825 by free African Americans, the community represented one of the first...
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Alexander McCaine: The Reverend Who Used the Bible and Jesus’ Silence to Justify Slavery

In the early 19th century, religion often stood at the center of every moral debate in America, and slavery...