Challenging traditional histories of abolition, this book shifts
the focus away from the East to show how the women of Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin helped build a vibrant
antislavery movement in the Old Northwest.
Stacey Robertson argues that the environment of the Old
Northwest--with its own complicated history of slavery and
racism--created a uniquely collaborative and flexible approach to
abolitionism. Western women helped build this local focus through
their unusual and occasionally transgressive activities. They
plunged into Liberty Party politics, vociferously supported a
Quaker-led boycott of slave goods, and tirelessly aided fugitives
and free blacks in their communities. Western women worked closely
with male abolitionists, belying the notion of separate spheres
that characterized abolitionism in the East. The contested history
of race relations in the West also affected the development of
abolitionism in the region, necessitating a pragmatic bent in their
activities. Female antislavery societies focused on eliminating
racist laws, aiding fugitive slaves, and building and sustaining
schools for blacks. This approach required that abolitionists of
all stripes work together, and women proved especially adept at
such cooperation.