A Newberry Library and Chicago Historical Society Exhibit: October 1, 2004, to January 15, 2005

		Claiming Human Rights: North of Slavery Slaveholding America had its share of critics in Chicago, and one southern Illinois newspaper called the city a �sinkhole of abolition.� Well situated for travel throughout the region, Chicago became an organizational hub for midwestern abolitionists and Abraham Lincoln�s Republican party. It was also an important stop on the Underground Railroad, which ferried fugitive slaves to freedom in Canada. Fueled by faith in the equality of people before God, an interracial alliance of free blacks and their white allies organized the resistance to slavery and the limits on African Americans� freedoms. Athough abolitionists witnessed the overthrow of slavery, the Civil War did not rid Chicago of racism and white supremacy.

This exhibit has been organized by the Newberry Library's Dr. William M. Scholl Center for Family and Community History and the Chicago Historical Society. It has been made possible with major funding provided in part by The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning. Generous support also provided by The Chicago Reader and Dr. and Mrs. Tapas K. Das Gupta.