The Film: Interview Transcripts: James Oliver Horton

James Oliver Horton, Ph.D., historian on
inter-racial alliances
Often the black abolitionists called upon their white allies.  And white people were terribly important in both the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement because they generally had more money.  White reformers often provided the money necessary to keep the movement going.  They also generally had more political influence, and they often used that political influence to the advantage of the anti-slavery movement.  So, when you talk about the anti-slavery movement, you are really talking about an alliance between blacks and whites.  People committed to what America said it was committed to.  That is human freedom, human liberty.  The Underground Railroad was really about people who refused to be denied freedom and other people who refused to allow their fellows to be denied freedom.  That, I think, is a very important lesson for today, because, you know at the end of the 20^th or the beginning of the 21^st Century, if we look back on the efforts that we have to build upon, to build strong inter-racial alliances, there are many examples of successful alliances.  Alliances under the most trying and most dangerous of conditions and you know, when you look back at the kinds of things that our ancestors, black and white, had to face in terms of fighting against efforts to deny human beings, human freedom, we ought to be able to do better than we’re doing today, because our ancestors did well in the most difficult situations. 

economic impact of slavery

the role of free blacks

the decision to escape

importance of
Western Pennsylvania

John Brown

black patriotism

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