Overview

Widely known as the “poor man’s lawyer” in antebellum Boston, John Albion Andrew (1818–1867) was involved in nearly every cause and case that advanced social and racial justice in Boston in the years preceding the Civil War. Inspired by the legacies of John Quincy Adams and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and mentored by Charles Sumner, Andrew devoted himself to the battle for equality. By day, he fought to protect those condemned to the death penalty, women seeking divorce, and fugitives ensnared by the Fugitive Slave Law. By night, he coordinated logistics and funding for the Underground Railroad as it ferried enslaved African Americans northward. In this revealing and accessible biography, Stephen D. Engle traces Andrew’s life and legacy, giving this important, but largely forgotten, figure his due. Rising to national prominence during the Civil War years as the governor of Massachusetts, Andrew raised the African American regiment known as the Glorious 54th and rallied thousands of soldiers to the Union cause. Upon his sudden death in 1867, a correspondent for Harper’s Weekly wrote, “Not since the news came of Abraham Lincoln’s death were so many hearts truly smitten.”

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9781625347459

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Stephen D. Engle reintroduces us to one of the nineteenth century's leading political reformers, abolitionists, and citizens. John Andrew deserves to be more widely known, and this book is the kind of biography he deserves. Through the story Andrew's life, Engle illuminates the contentious and exhilarating era in which Andrew played such a pivotal role. - Robert Allison, author of The American Revolution: A Very Short Introduction In an engagingly written book, Stephen Engle traces Andrew's trajectory from young idealistic student and abolitionist lawyer to his career as Lincoln's most effective ally among the Civil War governors. A first-class biography, Engle's book is also a comprehensive history of the one of the most consequential governorships in American history. It will be read by many; it will be essential reading for those working in the political history of the Civil War. - John L. Brooke, author of There Is a North : Fugitive Slaves, Political Crisis, and Cultural Transformation in the Coming of the Civil War

Author Information

Stephen D. Engle is professor of history at Florida Atlantic University. He is the author of numerous books, including Gathering to Save a Nation: Lincoln and the Union’s War Governors, which was the recipient of the Barondess/Lincoln Award.

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