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Slave Trade & Abolition in New England

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The Exeter Historical Society and the NH Humanities Council present a free public program in conjunction with the Civil War 150th, “Slave Trade & Abolition in New England.” The program includes a panel of distinguished scholars and an award-winning documentary, “Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North” on October 27, 2011 at 6:30 pm in the Phillips Exeter Academy Assembly Hall in Exeter NH. (Continued below)

 

The program, “Slave Trade & Abolition in New England,” is designed to give audience members a basis for understanding the complexities and ambiguities of slavery by looking at New England’s participation in the African slave trade in the 1700s, then discussing the political and cultural context of New Hampshire’s attitudes towards the War. The documentary, “Traces of the Trade” tells the story of the Rhode Island DeWolfe family and its struggles to understand the family’s own involvement in the trade. The panel following the 51-minute film will explore slavery in New Hampshire, the abolition movement in the state, “New Hampshire’s” President Franklin Pierce and the thoughts of the ordinary New Hampshire soldier who fought in the War.

The panel will be introduced by Dr. Richard Schubart, Exeter Historical Society trustee, Phillips Exeter Academy faculty member and Civil War scholar. Moderating the panel discussion is UNH history professor Jeff Bolster, author of Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail.

Panelists include:

  • JerriAnne Boggis, associate professor of history at UNH and board member of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Inc., will discuss slavery and the experience of African Americans in New Hampshire throughout the 19thcentury;
  • Mike Pride, former editor of the Concord Monitor and author of My Brave Boys: To War with Colonel Cross and the Fighting Fifth, will discuss the beliefs and perceptions of the state’s citizens and soldiers on the subject of slavery at the time of the Civil War;
  • Peter Wallner, director of the New Hampshire Historical Society library and author of two books on Franklin Pierce, will include the perspective of New Hampshire’s only president and how his policies on slavery shaped the issues that led to war;
  • Graham Warder, assistant professor of history at Keene State College, will speak to the abolition movement in the state.

Exeter Historical Society program director, Laura Gowing explained, “This being the first year of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the Exeter Historical Society would like to explore the primary cause of the war – slavery – and our state’s role in the issue. Conventional wisdom suggests that slavery was a purely Southern institution and that the North played little to no role in the spread of what we now consider an abhorrent practice.  In this scenario, the South takes on the role of the racist and greedy antagonist, while the North assumes the role of the pure and humanitarian protagonist. History is rarely this black and white, and is full of shades of gray. The goal of the event is to shed light on the complexities of the issues leading up to the Civil War, focusing on the fact that, in many ways, the Northern states were complicit in the perpetuation of slavery. We hope the program will pique an interest in the topics of slavery, the Civil War and local history and to gain a broader perspective on our nation’s history.”

The Exeter Historical Society began the process with the 2010 Lincoln Sesquicentennial Celebration, with the assistance of a major grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council and multiple partners.  In addition to the Traces of the Trade program, the Society is planning other Civil War-related events and exhibits for the remainder of the sesquicentennial to sustain the interest in the history of this period.  In February 2012, coinciding with the New Hampshire Historical Society’s exhibit, Voices from the Front: New Hampshire and the American Civil War, the Exeter Historical Society will open an exhibit similarly titled Voices from the Front: Exeter and the American Civil War, which will mirror their larger exhibit. To introduce the exhibit to the public, the Exeter Historical Society will be hosting the New Hampshire Humanities Council’s Humanities-to-Go program by Jere Daniell, “Exeter, New Hampshire and the Civil War” on Tuesday, February 7, 2012, at 7:30pm.

The Exeter Historical Society is partnering with the NH Humanities Council, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter Chamber of Commerce, Exeter High School, “We the People,” ECM Design, the New Hampshire Historical Society and Leading Edge Marketing to bring this program to the public.

The October 27 program is free and open to the public. For information call 603-778-2335 or visit www.exeterhistory.org

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