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David Ruggles: A Radical Black Abolitionist and the Underground Railroad in New York City (The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture) Hardcover – March 15, 2010

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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David Ruggles (1810-1849) was one of the most heroic--and has been one of the most often overlooked--figures of the early abolitionist movement in America. Graham Russell Gao Hodges provides the first biography of this African American activist, writer, publisher, and hydrotherapist who secured liberty for more than six hundred former bond people, the most famous of whom was Frederick Douglass. A forceful, courageous voice for black freedom, Ruggles mentored Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and William Cooper Nell in the skills of antislavery activism. As a founder of the New York Committee of Vigilance, he advocated a "practical abolitionism" that included civil disobedience and self-defense in order to preserve the rights of self-emancipated enslaved people and to protect free blacks from kidnappers who would sell them into slavery in the South.

Hodges's narrative places Ruggles in the fractious politics and society of New York, where he moved among the highest ranks of state leaders and spoke up for common black New Yorkers. His work on the Committee of Vigilance inspired many upstate New York and New England whites, who allied with him to form a network that became the Underground Railroad.

Hodges's portrait of David Ruggles establishes the abolitionist as an essential link between disparate groups--male and female, black and white, clerical and secular, elite and rank-and-file--recasting the history of antebellum abolitionism as a more integrated and cohesive movement than is often portrayed.
Previous page
  1. Part of series
    The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture
  2. Print length
    280 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    The University of North Carolina Press
  5. Publication date
    March 15, 2010
  6. Dimensions
    6.14 x 0.7 x 9.21 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0807833266
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0807872642
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Few scholars have examined the relationship between the Underground Railroad, abolition networks, and the broader currents of political and social change. Graham Hodges in David Ruggles . . . dramatize[s] these relationships by recovering [a] forgotten, heroic African-American whose actions helped create fault lines in the spread of Southern slavery.--The Wall Street Journal



William Lloyd Garrison lauded [David Ruggles's] contributions to the abolitionist movement. 'He deserves to be ranked among the benefactors of his race,' Garrison wrote. 'His biography remains to be written.' . . . Dr. Hodges has now written the book Garrison called for more than 150 years ago.--New York Times City Room Blog



Hodges contributes to a better understanding of antebellum black activism and to shaping a fresh synthesis regarding how abolitionism shook America to its core. . . . Essential for readers and scholars interested in antebellum America, the antislavery movement, black activists, or New York City history.--Library Journal starred review



Mention American abolitionists and David Ruggles rarely comes to mind. . . . Graham Russell Gao Hodges goes a long way toward rectifying that oversight.--New York Times



Hodges . . . skillfully weaves the life of abolitionist David Ruggles into the larger history of black abolitionists. . . . [He] convincingly argues that historians should reconfigure Ruggles from the margins to the center of abolitionist studies. . . . Highly recommended.--Choice



Thanks to the efforts of Hodges, David Ruggles will no longer remain a largely unknown abolitionist but rather will be seen as having played a significant role in the struggle against the slaveholding South and the segregated North.--American Historical Review



[Hodges] does a fine job detailing Ruggles' accomplishments and the fervor with which he pursued them. . . . Hodges has done the historical community a great service.--Maryland Historical Magazine



Using a wealth of published materials and archival sources, Hodges masterfully places Ruggles within the wider world of nineteenth-century reform. . . . Hodges is able to uncover a brand of reform activism in the radical abolition community of New York previously hidden even to seasoned scholars. This volume will go a long way towards opening eyes to the importance of men like Ruggles in the struggle to overcome slavery and racism in nineteenth-century America." --Register of the Kentucky Historical Society



Hodges has diligently mined the primary sources to bring David Ruggles into the light. The result is this fine book. . . . One wonders why it has taken so long for historians to give Ruggles his due. Thankfully Hodges has done so. . . . This is a benchmark biography.--Left History



In this captivating biography, Hodges explores the life of one of the most important yet understudied abolitionists of his time, David Ruggles.--Historical Journal of Massachusetts

From the Inside Flap

David Ruggles (1810-1849) was one of the most heroic--and has been one of the most often overlooked--figures of the early abolitionist movement in America. Graham Russell Gao Hodges provides the first biography of this African American activist, writer, and publisher who secured liberty for more than six hundred former bond people, the most famous of whom was Frederick Douglass. Hodges's portrait of Ruggles establishes the abolitionist as an essential link between disparate groups--male and female, black and white, clerical and secular, elite and rank-and-file--recasting the history of antebellum abolitionism as a more integrated and cohesive movement than is often portrayed.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0807872644
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of North Carolina Press (March 15, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807833266
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807872642
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.7 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

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Graham Russell Hodges

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

AvidReader
5.0 out of 5 stars Tells a Different Side of the Civil War
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is the book you want to read after watching the movie Twelve Years a Slave, because David Ruggles was the reason that Solomon Northrop escaped slavery. Ruggles organized the first ever "vigilance committee" in New York to protect African Americans from being kidnapped and sold into slavery. This committee of men ready to forcibly interfere with kidnappers stopped as many abductions as they could and succeeded in passing a state law in New York to rescue the victims that did get tricked into a kidnapping like Northrop. The law required the Governor of NY to personally be responsible for rescuing victims, which he did for Northrop after Northrop was able to get the letter to his family of where he was. Anyway, this is an amazing story of a Christian abolitionist who personally assisted several hundred fugitive slaves to escape, boldly protected others from kidnapping, and mentored civil rights leaders like Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth and William Nell.
5 people found this helpful
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David L. Ruggles
5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Brave Man
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2010
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The Author of this book does a nice job telling the story of a great but largely forgotten man.This could not have been an easy book to write.David Ruggles was a very brave man whose story needed to be told and it is an interesting book indeed.Graham Russell Hodges does a clever job writng this tale,pieced together from many different sources.He puts together a narrative of what it was like in New York and the surrounding areas in the days of the abolitionist movement and the underground railroad.He tells how one man dedicated his life to help others,often at his own risk.He brings you back to a time in New York where black men were kidnapped and brought south to be sold into slavery.David Ruggles would fight the oppressors and he had much success.Read the book.
6 people found this helpful
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Dale McKinney
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016
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It was very informative.
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Conrad Hamanaka
5.0 out of 5 stars Every person interested in US history must read this book ...
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2017
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Every person interested in US history must read this book. An unknown leader of the 19th century abolitionist movement in New York City. An unusual, intriguing character.
2 people found this helpful
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