Crisis Decade (1850 – 1860)

…s denouncing the law at the pulpit. Brooklyn, the “City of Churches”, so called because of the disproportionate number of churches to people, entered a war of words. Richard S. Storrs. ca. 1865. Portrait collection. M1975.190.1. Brooklyn Historical Society. Church Debates on the Fugitive Slave Law “Is this law right? Is it equitable and just? Does it agree with the law which GOD has given me, when he tells me to love me neighbor as myself?” At Ch…

Timeline

…cords Service. Teacher’s Manual Section 1: Lesson 1 Brooklyn was the slaveholding capital of New York State. In 1790, the first official federal census revealed that the population of Kings County had doubled in less than a century. 4,495 residents, mostly of Dutch, English, and African descent, lived and worked on the county’s large farms. Not all were free. In 1738, 25% of Kings County’s residents were held in slavery. In 1790, this number had…

Abolitionist Biographies

…in Ohio, Beecher became the inaugural pastor of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights. The church was founded in 1847 by a group of Brooklyn Heights residents who held anti-slavery views. By the 1850s, Beecher had gained a national reputation for his commitment to abolitionism, theatrical preaching style, and ability to fundraise for anti-slavery causes. He assisted in the emancipation of a number of young women and his congregation raised money f…

Abolitionist Brooklyn (1828 – 1849)

…abolitionists were a radical minority who had established the American Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia in 1833 with headquarters in Manhattan. It was the first movement in American history in which men and women, black and white, came together with mutual purpose – to end slavery immediately and demand political and legal equality for all Americans. In July 1834, anti-abolition riots flared across Manhattan. In response, a number of white a…

Games

…from his enslaver Mary Brown in Baltimore. Manhattan and Brooklyn abolitionists rallied together to raise the $800 needed for Hamlet’s release. The Freedman’s Bureau After the Civil War, Congress established the Freedman’s Bureau.The Brooklyn Branch, which opened in 1866, assists, educates, and aids free people living in Brooklyn. Peter Croger Peter Croger, one of the founders and trustees of the first African-American church in Brooklyn, establ…

A Gradual Emancipation (1783 – 1827)

…s actual enslavers were likely to be Albert and Anetje Terhune. James Ryder Van Brunt. Van Brunt Homestead. ca. 1848. Brooklyn Historical Society. Teacher’s Manual Section 1: Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 As the reality of slavery of Brooklyn faded, the memories of the past – when they surfaced at all – tended to focus on the “mildness” of slavery in the North and the beauty of its agricultural backdrop. Created in 1848, this image idealizes Cor…

Walking Tours

…il it was incorporated as the city of Brooklyn in 1834. ↗ Open map in new window DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN In the early 19th century, this area was the village of Brooklyn, located within the town of the same name. It was the heart of the burgeoning city. Brooklyn’s anti-slavery pioneers — free African Americans — lived here from 1810 onwards. They built institutions to combat racism on behalf of all people of color, especially when the end of slavery in…

Civil War & Beyond (1861 – 1867)

On April 12, 1861, the attack on Fort Sumter marked the start of the Civil War. But conflict was not confined to the battlefields alone. By 1860, Brooklyn was the third largest city in the United States. It was home to a culturally diverse society including people of Dutch, English and African. There were also increasing numbers of German and Irish immigrants. The Irish and Black communities were among the most marginalized in American society….