Biography of William Still, American Abolitionist

Biography of William Still, American Abolitionist William Still (October 7, 1821–July 14, 1902) was a prominent abolitionist who coined the term Underground Railroad and, as one of the chief conductors in Pennsylvania helped thousands of people get free and settled away from slavery. Throughout his life, Still fought not only to abolish slavery, but also to provide African-Americans in northern enclaves with civil rights. Stills work with runaways is documented in his seminal text, The Underground Rail Road.  Still believed that the book  could encourage the race in efforts of self-elevation. Fast Facts: William Still Known For: Abolitionist, Father of the Underground RailroadBorn: October 7, 1821 near Medford, New JerseyParents: Levin and Charity (Sidney) SteelDied: July 14, 1902 in PhiladelphiaEducation: Little formal education, self-taughtPublished Works: The Underground Rail RoadSpouse: Letitia George (m. 1847)Children:  Caroline Matilda Still, William Wilberforce Still, Robert George Still, Frances Ellen Still Early Life Still was born a free black man in near the town of Medford, in Burlington County, New Jersey, the youngest of 18 children born to Levin and Sidney Steel. Although he gave his official birthdate as October 7, 1821, Still provided the date of November 1819 on the 1900 census. Still was the son of people who had been enslaved laborers on a potato and corn farm on the eastern shore of Maryland owned by Saunders Griffin. William Stills father Levin Steel was able to purchase his own freedom, but his wife Sidney had to escape enslavement twice. The first time she escaped she brought along her four oldest children. However, she and her children were recaptured and returned to slavery. The second time Sidney Steel ran away, she brought two daughters, but her sons were sold to slave owners in Mississippi. Once the family was settled in New Jersey, Levin changed the spelling of their name to Still and Sidney took a new name, Charity. Throughout William Stills childhood, he worked with his family on their farm and also found work as a woodcutter. Although Still received very little formal education, he did learn to read and write, teaching himself by extensive reading. Stills literary skills would help him become a prominent abolitionist and advocate for freed African-Americans. Marriage and Family In 1844 at the age of 23, Still relocated to Philadelphia, where he worked first as a janitor and then as a clerk for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Soon he became an active member of the organization, and by 1850 he served as the chairman of the committee established to help runaway slaves. While he was in Philadelphia, Still met and married Letitia George. Following their marriage in 1847, the couple had four children: Caroline Matilda Still, one of the first African-American women doctors in the United States; William Wilberforce Still, a prominent African-American lawyer in Philadelphia; Robert George Still, a journalist and print shop owner; and Frances Ellen Still, an educator who was named after the poet Frances Watkins Harper. The Underground Railroad Between 1844 and 1865, Still helped at least 60 enslaved African-Americans escape bondage. Still interviewed many of the enslaved African-Americans seeking freedom, men, women, and families, documenting where they came from, the difficulties they met and help they found along the way, their final destination, and the pseudonyms they used to relocate. During one of his interviews, Still realized that he was questioning his older brother Peter, who had been sold to another slaveholder when their mother escaped. During his time with the Anti-Slavery Society, Still put together records of more than 1,000 former enslaved people, keeping the information hidden until slavery was abolished in 1865. With the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, Still was elected chairman of the Vigilance Committee organized to find a way to circumvent the legislation. African-American Civic Leader Since his work with the Underground Railroad had to be kept secret, Still kept a fairly low public profile until slaves were freed. Nonetheless, he was a fairly prominent leader of the African-American community: in 1855, he traveled to Canada to observe enclaves of former slaves. By 1859, Still began the fight to desegregate Philadelphias public transportation system by publishing a letter in a local newspaper. Although Still was supported by many in this endeavor, some members of the African-American community were less interested in gaining civil rights. As a result, Still published a pamphlet entitled, ​A Brief Narrative of the Struggle for the Rights of the Colored People of Philadelphia in the City Railway Cars in 1867. After eight years of lobbying, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a law ending segregation of public transportation. Still was also an organizer of a YMCA for African-American youngsters; an active participant in the Freedmens Aid Commission; and a founding member of the Berean Presbyterian Church. He also helped establish a Mission School in North Philadelphia. After 1865 In 1872, seven years after the abolition of slavery, Still published his collected interviews in a book entitled, The Underground Rail Road. The book included more than 1,000 interviews and was 800 pages long: the tales are heroic and harrowing, and they illustrate how people suffered deeply and sacrificed much to escape slavery. Notably, the text underscored the fact that the abolitionist movement in Philadelphia was primarily organized and maintained by African-Americans. As a result,  Still became known as the Father of the Underground Railroad. Of his book, Still said, we very much need works on various topics from the pens of colored men to represent the race intellectually. The publication of The Underground Rail Road  was important to the body of literature published by African-Americans documenting their history as abolitionists and former slaves. Stills book was published in three editions and went on to become the most circulated text on the Underground Railroad. In  1876, Still placed the book on exhibit at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition to remind visitors of the legacy of slavery in the United States. By the late 1870s, he sold an estimated 5,000–10,000 copies. In 1883, he issued the third expanded edition that included an autobiographical sketch. Businessman During his career as an abolitionist and civil rights activist, Still acquired considerable personal wealth. He began purchasing real estate throughout Philadelphia as a young man. Later, he ran a coal business and established a store selling new and used stoves. He also received proceeds from the sales of his book. To publicize his book, Still built a network of efficient, entrepreneurial, college-educated sales agents to sell what he described as a collection of quiet examples of what fortitude can achieve where freedom is the goal. Death Still died in 1902 of heart trouble. In Stills obituary, The New York Times wrote that he was one of the best-educated members of his race, who was known throughout the country as the Father of the Underground Railroad. Sources Gara, Larry. William Still and the Underground Railroad. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 28.1 (1961): 33–44.Hall, Stephen G. To Render the Private Public: William Still and the Selling of The Underground Rail Road. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 127.1 (2003): 35–55.Hendrick, Willene and George Hendrick. Fleeing for Freedom: Stories of the Underground Railroad as Told by Levi Coffin and William Still. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2004Khan, Lurey. William Still and the Underground Railroad: Fugitive Slaves and Family Ties. New York: iUniverse, 2010.Mitchell, Frances Waters. William Still. Negro History Bulletin 5.3 (1941): 50–51.Still, William.. The Underground Rail Road Records: With a Life of the Author. Philadelphia: William Still, 1886.William Still: An African-American Abolitionist. Still Family Archives. Philadelphia: Temple University.

Quotes About Being Aloneâ€but Not Lonely

Quotes About Being Alone- but Not Lonely Some people find it unnerving to be left alone when there are far too many uncomfortable dimensions to the solitude. Yet being alone does not necessarily mean being lonely. For instance, assume you are left alone with your thoughts. If you find peace in solitude, your time alone may be a blessing, a welcome respite from the cares of the world. The right quotes show that being alone- far from being lonely- provides a chance to reflect on life. Buddha All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else. Henry David Thoreau I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. Ann Landers It is far better to be alone than to wish you were. Warsan Shire My alone feels so good, I’ll only have you if you’re sweeter than my solitude. Marilyn Monroe I restore myself when Im alone. Its better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone- so far. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone. Julie Delpy Too many women throw themselves into romance because they’re afraid of being single, then start making compromises and losing their identity. I won’t do that. Thomas Merton If we seek paradise outside ourselves, we cannot have paradise in our hearts.Wayne Dyer You cannot be lonely if you like the person youre alone with. John Steinbeck All great and precious things are lonely. Blaise Pascal All mens miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone. James Dean Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and thats all you have. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying. George Washington It is better to be alone than in bad company. Dr. Seuss All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something youll be quite a lot. Dalai Lama Spend some time alone every day. African Proverb It is better to travel alone than with a bad companion. Jules Renard If you are afraid of being lonely, dont try to be right. Suzanne Gordon To be alone is to be different, to be different is to be alone. Charles Caleb Colton To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than their own hearts in their closet. Alain de Botton Booksellers are the most valuable destination for the lonely, given the numbers of books that were written because authors couldnt find anyone to talk to. Georg Trakl For whoever is lonely there is a tavern. Paul Tillich Language...has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone. Jose Garcia Villa No more truth. Bells ring no more in me. I am all alone singly. Lonely rests my head. O my God! I am dead. Pearl S. Buck The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration. Vicki Baum Fame always brings loneliness. Success is as ice-cold and lonely as the North Pole. Anonymous I think Id do better on my own, no friends, no fights, just me alone. Christopher Morley Beauty is ever to the lonely mind a shadow fleeting; she is never plain. She is a visitor who leaves behind the gift of grief, the souvenir of pain. Hafiz of Persia â€Å"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.† Ancient Chinese Proverb â€Å"An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless or time, place, and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break.† Mandy Hale â€Å"A season of loneliness and isolation is when the caterpillar gets its wings. Remember that next time you feel alone.† Dr. Wayne Dyer You cannot be lonely if you like the person youre alone with. Joseph F. Newton â€Å"People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.†

Spring awakening Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Spring awakening - Essay Example This writing compares modern America and the issues faced by the teenagers in Spring Awakening. In Spring awakening the parents and the society at large are not ready to inform their children about the sexual exploration. Parents consider it unethical to discuss issues of sexual relationship with their children. This is really unfortunate since most of the children in the play are starting to experience changes in their bodies. No one is out there to explain to them about these changes. Even the very parents with the responsibility of caring are not giving their children any explanation to the biological changes they experience. The big issue of the play was the challenges the teenagers had due to the societal suppression and fear of discussing sexuality and reproduction. For instance, Wendla who is a teenage school girl is in a big trouble because her mother Bergmann is not comfortable with her daughter’s quick growth. Wendla’s mother is not ready to discuss with Wendla the facts about reproduction and sexuality despite her daughter’s growing curiosity. Martha is also emotionally disturbed by her parents’ continual physical abuse. It is surprising to note that 17-year old Lammermeier does not even have sexual thoughts and even the expulsion of Melchior from school simply because he has knowledge about sex and he is able to express himself in writing. Failure by the society and the parents to discuss sexuality and reproduction in the play makes Wendla conceive Melchior’s child unknowingly and finally dies after unsafe abortion. It is quite sarcastic to find that the same parents who do not want to talk about sex decide to send Melchior to a reformatory because they discover that he got Wendla pregnant. I feel that modern America has actually changed especially the perception of the topic of sexuality and reproduction. By the time I was an adolescent, I had known a lot about this topic. I got the knowledge from the school, media and very many

International business (Discussion Board) Assignment - 1

International business (Discussion Board) - Assignment Example this century, trade and its policies have fundamentally transformed societies that have heavily been stuck on poverty thus making the millennium development goals achievable over time. Trade plays the role of fostering development and holds the power to promote the economic growth of the country and with this; poverty is alleviated with a motive of reaching the development goals of such a country. It is upon countries to embrace and take advantage of trade opportunities in order to reap from its benefits. My fellow proponents have also reached a consensus in agreeing with my view that trade is important in the development of the country. Among their reasons that support this view are in the areas of infrastructure. They believe that when some countries do not have the capacity to acquire infrastructure, they would rather turn to deploying trade with other countries for the products they need. In my opinion, this would improve the economy of these countries since they use this platform to get what they do not produce. They tend to agree that some organizations have been accorded the mandate to work on possible ways of eradicating poverty through trade and WTO is given consideration. I tentatively agree think otherwise. I am tempted to believe that it is within a countries capacity to derive mechanisms to eradicate poverty since they understand their contexts very well. The only capacity they lack is on knowledge of how to and the resources needed to achieve this. WTO would rather act as an overseer in foreseeing that Countries is better equipped to handle their

Essay --

Alexander Caracciolo World Civilizations II (A) Spring 2014 ARTICLE Hitler and the Uniqueness of Nazism Ian Kershaw, Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 39, No. 2, Understanding Nazi Germany (Apr., 2004), pp. 239-254 I INTRODUCTION Though Nazism can be sited as a form of fascism or type of totalitarianism, these common concepts inadequately account for what was unique about the regime that unleashed such devastating inhumanity; a terrible war of annihilation and the worst genocide the world has yet experienced. This article suggests the answer is located in a unique mixture of potent forces emulsified in a vicious cocktail, Hitler's dictatorship. The extraordinary power of his 'charismatic authority', the distinctive climate of German political culture, and the bureaucratic capacity of a highly modern state system ultimately lead to uprising and the uniqueness of Nazism. II. SUMMARY 1. Introduction In the introduction, Ian Kershaw discusses what he considers common knowledge about the Nazi regime. Through a series of counterexamples, he disproves these theories as the singular causes of Nazism uniqueness. The idea that Hitler alone was unique is disproved, the idea that First World War was instrumental in Nazism’s uniqueness was disproved and countless others. 2. Hitler’s Indispensability When describing Nazism it seems only natural to begin with Hitler. Although he himself cannot account for Nazism’s uniqueness, his role as a dictator is indispensable in making this claim. Kershaw explains, no Hitler: â€Å"no SS-police state, no general European war by the late 1930s, no attack on the Soviet Union, no Holocaust, no state policy aimed at wiping out the Jews of Europe† (245). Yet the forces that led to the â€Å"undermining of law, to... ...mbodied and its corrupting effect on the instruments and mechanisms of the most advanced state in Europe. Both the broad acceptance of the 'project' of 'national salvation', seen as personified in Hitler, and the internalization of the ideological goals by a new, modern power-elite, operating along-side weakened old elites through the bureaucratic sophistication of a modern state, were necessary prerequisites for the world-historical catastrophe of the Third Reich. III. SOURCES This article is not based on any one primary source, but is instead smattered with the ideas from several historians. IV. SIGNIFICANCE/HISTORICAL CONTEXT In addressing previous historical scholarship, Kershaw sheds new light on what is commonly thought of as Nazism. He recognizes other theories a being part Nazism but uses several sources to explain how they were not what was unquie to it.

Critical Analyis of John Locke, Hegel, and and John Stuart Mill Essay

Question 1:How does Locke prove that human beings have a natural right to private property? Answer (Book II chap V section 27): Humans have the right to private property because they are using their own labor in conjunction to take property from the state of nature and thus making it his own. By mixing his labor or his hands, which is an extent of himself, he is relating that property to him and no one else. When every we pour water into a glass, by using labor and our hands, we have the sole entitlement to the water. Question 2:How does human nature limit this right to property? Answer (Book II chap V section 31-32) Man has the right to use as much property as possible just as long as he finds away that is supports his life. Once he no longer finds ways to use his property for life, he has to give it up. To add to the limitations of property, Man can use as much property unless it is wasted and not good for the use of others. By wasting property, that persons is violating other people’s rights because human nature states that everyone has the an equal Question 3:How does Hegel’s abstract right define the relation between freedom, reason, and property? Answer: Question 4:How does Hegel prove that the abstract right to property necessarily involves relation to other person’s? Answer: Question 5:Using your answer to the proceeding questions, identify exactly what distinguishes Locke’s position on freedom and property from the way Hegel’s account of abstract right understands the same issue? Answer: Question 6:How does Hegel’s account of abstract right prove that right embodied in property necessarily violates the same right in other persons? Answer: Question 7:Using your answer to #6, explain why Locke is in no position to draw the same conclusion. Answer: Question 8:State in your own words Mill’s utility principle. Identify precisely how this principle introduces a tension between independent individuality and communal solidarity. Explain how this same tension appears in Locke and in Hegel’s abstract right. Answer:

The Future of Freedom - 1081 Words

History The Future of Freedom nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In his book, The Future of Freedom, Fareed Zakaria writes that we must make democracy safe for the world. The American democracy sets the standard around the world for liberal democracies, but transitions across for other countries across the world toward a liberal democracy is often difficult and with poor decision making, close to impossible. Liberal democracies are the systems in which people choose their government and live in an environment of freedom. In Zakaria’s book, he warns the readers of several telltale signs that their process toward a liberal democracy is in trouble. He uses examples of different countries doing it right and doing it wrong- the ones discussed in†¦show more content†¦Zakaria writes, â€Å"They know that to introduce capitalism into China requires much more than economic changes, so they have allowed significant reforms of the administrative and legal systems as well† (81). Although Zakaria argues that Chin a must reform its political system, he says a quick transition to a liberal democracy can lead to chaos, because of the large size of the country and the small size of its middle class. Other reasons, and probably more realistic reasons for China’s slow progression towards a democratic state is that the leaders want to clasp to its stronghold on the political system. Can democracy work in China? Zakaria feels it cannot be ignored the progress the Chinese economy has had under its state as a free economy. But the problem continues to be the political progress of this country. China still only has a small middle class, which is detrimental towards a functioning liberal democracy. During the 1980s, there were pushes for political reform from members of the political scene as well as from the public but all that came to a halt during the massacre in Tiananmen Square when soldiers stomped out the early fires of democracy (Zakaria,83). 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