Niagara Falls was the terminal on the underground
railway, the point at which runaways had reached freedom.
Harpers Ferry had been the site of John Brown's violent assault
on slavery, and Oberlin, Ohio, had been well known as a center of
abolitionist activity.
The growth of racism at the turn of the century, besides
encouraging the development of Negro institutions, revived the
interests of some whites in fighting for racial justice. Whites
were particularly upset by racially motivated acts of violence.
Lynchings reached a high point in American history at this time.
Between 1900 and 1910, there were 846 lynchings, in which 92
victims were white and 754 Negro. Northern whites were
especially perturbed as racial violence began to move into the
North. Previously they had viewed it as a Southern white man's
problem. When a vicious race riot occurred in Springfield,
Illinois, in 1908, this illusion was shattered. William English
Walling, the journalist, was shocked and wrote an impassioned
article, "Race War in the North," which was published in The
Independent.
Walling's article, which was based on his visit to Springfield,
brought several collaborators to his side.
Pages:
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196