Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
By Religion in American History Blog
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

Prudence Crandall's Legacy

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


Paul Harvey

Here’s a book to recommend to you all because it tells you about something you think you know about, but it turns out most likely you probably don’t, really — except for you, Carol Faulkner, since this hits your bailiwick.

The book in question here is Donald Williams, Prudence Crandall’s Legacy: The Fight for Equality in the 1830s, Dred Scott, and Brown v. Board of Education.  

This book definitively tells the amazing story of Prudence Crandall, the woman whose “School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color” in Canterbury, Connecticut led to a series of social conflicts over black citizenship rights. From her fledgling (and short-lived) attempt to educate young black women comes a direct line to court cases starting in Connecticut with Crandall v. State but soon leading to the Amistad  case, the Dred Scott decision, Plessy v. Ferguson, and eventually Brown v. Board. The dramatis personae of this book is incredible – nearly all the leading abolitionists, but especially Crandall’s ally William Lloyd Garrison, play important roles, as does a local lawyer and legislator named Andrew Judson who prosecuted and fought Crandall for years and denied that the Constitution afforded citizenship rights to blacks, only to later (and shockingly to President Martin Van Buren) issue a ruling for the defendants  in the Amistadcase. Crandall survived more outrageous misfortune than seems humanly possible, including an eventual marriage to a mentally troubled man, but at the end of her financially straitened life had an offer from Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) to purchase her former home for her use. More than that, it seems like just about everyone of note in antebellum America interacted with Crandall, her friends, or her tormentors at one point or another. 


Crandall’s long life and legacy take up most of the book — the Brown v. Board part is a sort of epilogue. What I found most compelling here is just the wealth of detail of the day-to-day struggles of Crandall provided by the author, and the astonishing persistence with which local legal authorities pursued and basically persecuted her through the 1830s leading up to the court case State v. Crandall. It’s no surprise that life for free blacks (and their allies) in the antebellum North could be incredibly difficult, but this story illuminates it in ways that will give you a new appreciation for the era. 


Source:



Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!


Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST


Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!

HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.

Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.

MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)

Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser!  Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!

Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.

Smart Meter Cover -  Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).

Report abuse

    Comments

    Your Comments
    Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

    MOST RECENT
    Load more ...

    SignUp

    Login

    Newsletter

    Email this story
    Email this story

    If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

    If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.