This book is about the rescue of Jerry in Syracuse, NY on October 1,1851. Jerry had escaped from slavery in Missouri, where he used to be called William Henry. He was light brown in color with reddish brown hair. Jerry could read and write, which was very unusual for a man who had been enslaved. Jerry was working as a barrel maker and carpenter. He was taking care of himself as a free man.
Under the Fugitive Slave Law a kidnapper could travel to Syracuse to ask a judge to return a freedom seeker back to the man who used to own him. Syracuse had a very active abolitionist community. The year before the U.S. President sent the Secretary of State to warn the citizens of Syracuse not to disobey the new Fugitive Slave Law, or there would be consequences.
It took a lot of planning, and an entire community coming together and two dramatic rescue attempts before Jerry was transported to Canada safely. More than 2500 people showed up to protest and to help Jerry escape. They faced possible jail time and fines if caught for helping. It took courageous resistance to stand up to an unjust law that intended to force black people back into slavery. Ordinary citizens choose to resist this unjust law. Many black people were also involved in the rescue, Reverend Jermain Loguen, Enoch Reed, Prince Jackson, William Tomsen and two teenage girls Lucy and Francis Watson to name a few.
Freeing Jerry is said to have been one of the sparks that helped ignite the Civil War. It can be said that ordinary citizens helped change the course of history. Children and Adults of all ages can be inspired by the true story of this event.
