Paul Robeson Moves To Enfield, Conn.
In 1941, the most famous black man in the world moved with his wife and son to a 12-room Colonial house in the all-white town of Enfield, Conn. It had… The post Paul Robeson Moves To Enfield, Conn....
View ArticleStephen Higginson Tells Fish Stories To Parliament In 1771 and Gets Arrested...
In 1771, the British government desperately needed to know how American colonists felt about fishing policies. Stephen Higginson filled them in, and almost got jailed as a traitor because of… The post...
View ArticleAbe Lincoln’s Puritan Ancestors (Cavaliers and Baptists, Too)
Abraham Lincoln, the Great Unifier, didn’t talk much about his Puritan ancestors. Nor did he talk much about his ancestors from Virginia, where the original Anglican settlers were known as… The post...
View ArticleJames Covey, African Sailor, Helps the Amistad Captives to Freedom
In 1839, a young black sailor named James Covey held the key to freedom for 53 Africans who appeared in a Spanish ship off Long Island. They couldn’t speak English.… The post James Covey, African...
View ArticleGiving the Devil Her Due: The Neglected History of Tituba, Salem’s First Witch
Posterity has treated few characters in the Salem witch trial drama as poorly as Tituba, a woman enslaved in the household of minister Samuel Parris. Tituba, the first to confess… The post Giving the...
View ArticleCrazy Henry Baldwin, the Mentally Ill Supreme Court Justice
In the history of the United States, only 120 people have served on the Supreme Court. Some suffered from mental illness. Henry Baldwin was one of them. In 1833, Baldwin… The post Crazy Henry Baldwin,...
View ArticleZouaves and Contrabands: Winslow Homer’s Civil War
Before the Civil War broke out, a military fashion craze from North Africa took hold of the United States. Men, women and children dressed in Turkish-flavored outfits inspired by the… The post Zouaves...
View ArticleEdward Fitch, a Massachusetts Martyr in Bleeding Kansas
During the long struggle to abolish slavery in America, Edward Fitch did not hold political office. Nor did he serve as an officer of the Union Army or in any… The post Edward Fitch, a Massachusetts...
View ArticleRhode Island Privateer Marlborough Attacks Britain’s Slave Trade in Africa in...
On Jan. 2, 1778, the Rhode Island privateer Marlborough, with 96 Rhode Island and Massachusetts sailors on board, began its voyage to the west coast of Africa. It was one… The post Rhode Island...
View ArticleJonathan Mitchel Sewall, Lawyer, Poet and a Black Man’s Drinking Buddy
When Nancy Hammond bought a house on Gates Street in Portsmouth, N.H., she had no idea it would inspire her to trace the life story of a good and interesting… The post Jonathan Mitchel Sewall, Lawyer,...
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