Gerrit Smith Estate
National Historic Landmark

" There are yet two places where slaveholders
   cannot come, Heaven and Peterboro! "

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Welcome

Whatever It Takes: Abolition Strategies of Gerrit Smith

 

The Stewards for the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark will hold the annual Gerrit Smith birthday party at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at the Smithfield Community Center at 5255 Pleasant Valley Road in Peterboro. The program includes a presentation on Smith, brief announcements on 2010 summer programs, and birthday cake refreshments.

 

Norman K. Dann, Ph.D. will present Whatever It Takes, a look at the practical tactics used by Gerrit Smith to achieve the goal of the abolition of slavery.  To demonstrate Smith’s evolution as an abolitionist, Dann will provide an overview of the antislavery movement in the United States covering the time period of the 1600s through the post-Civil War era. Dann will trace the abolition movement through its stages of colonization (up to the mid-1830s), moral suasion (1830s and beyond), political activity (1840 – 1860), and the position on violence (1850 – 1865) with an emphasis on Smith’s activities at each of these stages.

 

Whatever It Takes is also the title of an upcoming publication by Dr. Dann. Norm Dann is the author of When We Get to Heaven: Runaway Slaves on the Road to Peterboro and Practical Dreamer: Gerrit Smith and the Crusade for Social Reform published by Log Cabin Books in Hamilton.

 GSE Sign from Heritage NY

2010 program announcements will include the 18th Annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend, the opening of Heritage NY Underground Railroad exhibits at five locations in Peterboro, a croquet tournament, a reestablishment of Peterboro Emancipation Days, the recognition of the 175th anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society in Peterboro, and many other presentations. The development of the Gerrit Smith Estate heritage site program season is due, in part, to a PACE capacity building grant awarded by the Central New York Community Foundation to the Smithfield Community Association.

 

The program is free and open to the public. For more information contact 315-684-1058, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or www.sca-peterboro.org