The Town That Started the Civil War: The True Story of the Community That Stood Up to Slavery--and Changed a Nation Forever
Before the War Between the States, there was the war between the U.S. government and Oberlin, Ohio. . . .
 
“A fascinating, gripping narrative.”—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom

On a crisp autumn day in Ohio, 1858, two Kentucky slave hunters were closing in on a runaway slave named John Price. Federal law said they had the right to bring the man back across state lines. But to the people of Oberlin, Ohio, the law was wrong—and they were willing to prove it with their sweat and blood.

In this fascinating, spirited telling of one of the most extraordinary confrontations in U.S. history, Nat Brandt gives a blow-by-blow account of how a small but passionate army of students, farmers, former slaves, a bookstore owner, a professor, a preacher, and a cobbler risked their lives to rescue a man they didn’t know—and ignited a furious conflict with a wavering U.S. government. From its first blows to the controversial trials that followed, the Oberlin Rescue was an act of uncommon heroism and courage—and a true battle for the conscience of a land.
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The Town That Started the Civil War: The True Story of the Community That Stood Up to Slavery--and Changed a Nation Forever
Before the War Between the States, there was the war between the U.S. government and Oberlin, Ohio. . . .
 
“A fascinating, gripping narrative.”—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom

On a crisp autumn day in Ohio, 1858, two Kentucky slave hunters were closing in on a runaway slave named John Price. Federal law said they had the right to bring the man back across state lines. But to the people of Oberlin, Ohio, the law was wrong—and they were willing to prove it with their sweat and blood.

In this fascinating, spirited telling of one of the most extraordinary confrontations in U.S. history, Nat Brandt gives a blow-by-blow account of how a small but passionate army of students, farmers, former slaves, a bookstore owner, a professor, a preacher, and a cobbler risked their lives to rescue a man they didn’t know—and ignited a furious conflict with a wavering U.S. government. From its first blows to the controversial trials that followed, the Oberlin Rescue was an act of uncommon heroism and courage—and a true battle for the conscience of a land.
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The Town That Started the Civil War: The True Story of the Community That Stood Up to Slavery--and Changed a Nation Forever

The Town That Started the Civil War: The True Story of the Community That Stood Up to Slavery--and Changed a Nation Forever

by Nat Brandt
The Town That Started the Civil War: The True Story of the Community That Stood Up to Slavery--and Changed a Nation Forever

The Town That Started the Civil War: The True Story of the Community That Stood Up to Slavery--and Changed a Nation Forever

by Nat Brandt

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Overview

Before the War Between the States, there was the war between the U.S. government and Oberlin, Ohio. . . .
 
“A fascinating, gripping narrative.”—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom

On a crisp autumn day in Ohio, 1858, two Kentucky slave hunters were closing in on a runaway slave named John Price. Federal law said they had the right to bring the man back across state lines. But to the people of Oberlin, Ohio, the law was wrong—and they were willing to prove it with their sweat and blood.

In this fascinating, spirited telling of one of the most extraordinary confrontations in U.S. history, Nat Brandt gives a blow-by-blow account of how a small but passionate army of students, farmers, former slaves, a bookstore owner, a professor, a preacher, and a cobbler risked their lives to rescue a man they didn’t know—and ignited a furious conflict with a wavering U.S. government. From its first blows to the controversial trials that followed, the Oberlin Rescue was an act of uncommon heroism and courage—and a true battle for the conscience of a land.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780440503965
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Publication date: 07/01/1991
Pages: 336
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile: 1330L (what's this?)

About the Author

Nat Brandt was born in New York City in 1929. He is a veteran journalist for CBS News and The New York Times, former managing editor of The American Heritage Dictionary, and former editor in chief of Publishers Weekly. Brandt is also an accomplished American history novelist whose work includes the book The Man Who Tried to Burn New York, which won the Douglas Southall Freeman History Award.

Table of Contents

Illustrationsxi
Prefacexiii
Acknowledgmentsxv
Cast of Charactersxvii
1.The Slave and the Student3
2.The Law13
3."Nigger" Town25
4.The Man-Stealers50
5.Ambush61
6.To the Rescue68
7.The Rescue87
8."From Snowy White to Sooty"112
9.Legal Maneuvers, Politics as Usual131
10.The Case Against the White Clerk143
11.The Case Against the Black Schoolteacher166
12."A Common Humanity"183
13."Wightman's Castle"191
14.The Rally and the Ruling203
15."I Was in Prison, and Ye Came unto Me"216
16.Aftermath238
Epilogue261
Notes267
Bibliography297
Index307
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