MARY ANN SHADD CARY: PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

摘要

Pioneer newspaperwoman, antislavery activist, lawyer, leader of the emigration movement to Canada, recruiter of Black soldiers during the Civil War, Mary Ann Shadd Cary contributed significantly to the success of abolitionist causes, A descendant of the Shadd family tells the story of her great-aunt. In 1850, the American Congress passed a bill known as the Fugitive Slave Act. It stipulated that any white person could arrest and detain anyone of African descent suspected of being a runaway slave. Even those who had been born free, unless they had irrefutable proof, were at risk of being captured and dragged into bondage. As a result, thousands of African Americans picked up and fled the northern states. For many, this destination was Canada. It was a phenomenal movement of refugees on what was known as the Underground Railroad: 20,000 people are estimated to have settled in Canada between 1820 and 1860.