| |
Hamilton, V. (1988). Anthony
Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave. New York:
Alfred a Knopf.
| Virginia Hamilton describes Anthony Burns:
The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave as “a narrative
history of events surrounding Anthony’s life as well as a
biography.” She researched the narrative history aspects over a
ten-year period, in that time collecting “source materials on an
ordinary slave” during the years when the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
was in effect. But during her research, she learned about Anthony
Burns in particular, a slave who had escaped
“bondage
only to be recaptured, and thus galvanized and unified the
antislavery movement.” He because sufficiently famous to be
mentioned in “most of our history books.” And, therefore, she made
the decision to build her book not simply around the life of an
unknown slave impacted by the Fugitive Slave Law but around
Anthony’s life, explaining that “he somehow deserved more than a
paragraph or a mere mention in the historical references on Slavery,
Abolitionist Causes, and Famous Fugitives.” As would be expected,
she could find no information on his day-to-day life as a slave
child or adolescent. Details emerged only when he was brought to
Richmond, Virginia at the approximate age of twenty and began to
plan his escape. She, therefore, followed the prerogative of the
fictionalized biographer, inventing and back-filling. In her “Afterword,”
she explained for the reader how she chose to populate Anthony’s
life with family members and friends as well as with actual
historical figures such as P. T. Barnum and President Franklin
Pierce and to build the story somewhat chronologically, even naming
the chapters with specific dates and years.
Hamilton posed an important question that is at
the heart of any study and use of authentic documents to create a
narrative and slightly fictionalized story. “You might ask, What
does the life of a slave born a hundred and fifty years ago have to
do with us? Here was a poor fugitive who lived but nine years of
his total life of twenty-eight years in freedom. Yet he did become
free, and he died a free man, so why not let it go at that? What
does a single slave out of millions like him, long gone and best
forgotten, have to do with us—you, me . . . ?” Part of her goal was
to contrast Anthony’s life with that of the contemporary reader who
might take the freedoms of the Constitution and Bill of Rights for
granted, unlike those bound by the slavery of Anthony’s time for
whom such freedoms were unknown. She also wanted to produce a book
in which neither the abolitionist movement, the abolitionists
themselves, nor even the evil of slavery was at the center, but one
in which “the oppressed slave, a common man, was at the center of
his own struggle. And even the title places the emphasis on Anthony
Burns and his ultimate “Triumph.”
Hamilton provides her readers with pertinent
sections of the Fugitive Slave Act which had been enacted as part of
the Compromise of 1850 revolving around the admission of new states
into the union as slave-holding or free states. She also includes a
thorough bibliography and, in keeping with the narrative history
that this books is, she includes an Index at the conclusion for
those actually studying historical facts, events, and persons.
|
Active Reading/Learning Strategies:
Timeline
Graphic Organizer for Anthony Burns: The Defeat and
Triumph of a Fugitive Slave
Writing in Response to Reading:
Anthony Burns – Written
Response Activity
Why do you think Virginia Hamilton provided a
List of Characters at the beginning of this book? She also
names the chapters after months or seasons and years? Why is
establishing a sense of the time frame important to this story?
Explain the Fugitive Slave Act. Why was it
enacted in 1850? What was happening in the United States that made
it necessary?
Also explain what the Abolitionist Movement
was. What was the final outcome of the conflict between the free
and slave-holding states?
In her Afterword, Hamilton explained
that she believed Anthony Burns “deserved more than a paragraph or a
mere mention in the historical references on Slavery, Abolitionist
Causes, and Famous Fugitives.” Why do you think she made that
decision?
How much time was Anthony Burns actually
allowed to live as a free man? Do you think he was able to enjoy
that time?
How was Anthony finally freed from slavery?
Name one of the historic persons who played a role in this event?
Anthony was offered five-hundred dollars to
take a job after he was freed, but he turned it down. What was that
job? Would you have accepted that job if you had been Anthony?
Explain your answer.
In what profession did Anthony spend his
closing years? Why might that have been a good choice of careers
for him?
On-Line Resources: Author’s website:
http://www.virginiahamilton.com/pages/burns.htm
Random House Teacher’s Guide:
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679839972&view=tg
The Underground Railroad in Wisconsin
http://historyalive.weac.org/teachers/resources.htm
Virginia Hamilton – websites, resources
http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/bibs/hamilton.html
“This Question of Slavery” lesson plan:
http://www.harrietbeecherstowe.org/programs/gibson.doc
|
|
