Ocean State Libraries

Union occupation of parts of the Confederacy during the Civil War forced federal officials to confront questions about the social order that would replace slavery. This volume of Freedom presents a documentary history of the emergence of free-labor relations in the large plantation areas of the Union-occupied Lower South. The documents illustrate the experiences of former slaves as military laborers, as residents of federally sponsored "contraband...

Explains how the nearly four million slaves and nearly half a million free blacks gained freedom and basic rights as citizens, following Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

"This book offers the first full account of Harriet Tubman's Civil War service and the Combahee River Raid. It details how Tubman commanded a ring of spies, scouts, and pilots and participated in military expeditions behind Confederate lines. It also recounts the story of enslaved families living in bondage and fighting for their freedom, using their own distinct and individual voices. The book uses more than 175 US Civil War pension files of the...

"This book for young readers tells the story of Washington, D.C., through the story of an African American man, Michael Shiner, who lived there from approximately 1804 to 1880 and who kept a journal, excerpts of which are interspersed throughout the heavily illustrated text"-- "Michael Shiner's Capital Days introduces young readers to Washington, D.C., during the early to mid-19th century. Spanning more than 60 years, the story of Michael Shiner...

"En 1848, Mary Walker nació siendo esclava. A los 15 años fue liberada. A los 20, se casó y tuvo su primer hijo. A los 68 aún trabajaba y recogía dinero para su iglesia. A los 114, era el último miembro de su familia que aún vivía. A los 116 años, Mary Walker aprendió a leer. Nunca es demasiado tarde para aprender." -- "A picture book biography sharing the inspiring and incredible true story of the nation's oldest student, Mary Walker,...