Necessary Courage: Iowa's Underground Railroad in the Struggle against Slavery

320 Pages·2013·1.72 MB·English

by  Lowell J. Soike

N E C E S S A R Y
C O U R A G E
Iowa and the Midwest Experience
series editor
William B. Friedricks,
Iowa History Center
at Simpson College
The University of Iowa Press gratefully acknowledges
Humanities Iowa for its generous support
of the Iowa and the Midwest
Experience series.
N E C E S S A R Y
C O U R A G E
Iowa’s Underground Railroad
in the Struggle against
Slavery
L O W E L L J . S O I K E
University of Iowa Press
Iowa City
jJ
University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242
Copyright © 2013 by the University of Iowa Press
www.uiowapress.org
Printed in the United States of America
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with any whom it has not been possible to reach.
The University of Iowa Press gratefully acknowledges Humanities Iowa
for its generous support of the Iowa and the
Midwest Experience series.
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Printed on acid-free paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Soike, Lowell J.
Necessary courage: Iowa’s Underground Railroad
in the struggle against slavery / Lowell J. Soike.
pages cm.—(Iowa and the Midwest experience)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 978-1-60938-193-6, 1-60938-193-9 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978-1-60938-222-3, 1-60938-222-6 (e-book)
1. Underground Railroad— Iowa. 2. Fugitive slaves— Iowa—
History—19th century. 3. Antislavery movements— Iowa— History—
19th century. 4. Abolitionists— Iowa— History—19th century. 5. Iowa—
History—19th century. 6. Iowa— Politics and government—
19th century. I. Title.
E450.S66 2013
326'.80977709034—dc23
2013010116
For Karen, Beth, Jonathan, and Anthony

Few were found willing to engage in the dangerous work of
assisting in operating the underground railroad. Some there
were who favored the idea of immediate and unconditional
emancipation, and aided, by pecuniary means, in keeping the
rolling-stock in motion; but few, very few indeed could be found
with the disposition or the necessary courage to stand by the
throttle or conduct the trains.
—The History of Clinton County, Iowa

C O N T E N T S
introduction.
Between Slavery and Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1 Iowa and the Politics of Slavery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 Iowa Becomes Antislavery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3 The Struggle Intensifies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4 A Hole of Abolitionists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5 The Kansas-Nebraska Act and Political
Change in Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
6 Escapes and Rescues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
7 Iowa and the Martyrdom of John Brown . . . . . . . . 137
8 Fearless Defiance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
9 War and Rebirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
10 Remembering and Forgetting the
Underground Railroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Suggested Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277