Tues with a Scholar: Slavery's Reach in Minnesota
From 1849 to 1865, dozens of slaveholders invested in land and businesses in free Minnesota. Slaveholders' wealth financially built several local communities, and, in turn, these investments supported slave plantations.
Minnesota government officials worked for slaveholders, and local legislators even tried to legalize slavery for southern tourists bringing slaves with them to Minnesota. Through careful research in obscure records, censuses, newspapers and archival collections, Christopher Lehman's book Slavery's Reach reveals this hidden history of Northern complicity in building slaveholder wealth.
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Increased awareness of an important era of Minnesota history; enhanced recognition of the library as a cultural center for the community.
This timely and valuable program featured local author discussing the hidden history of slavery in Minnesota. The patrons who attended reported a high rate of satisfaction with the program and the author.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute