Truth Crushed To Earth: A Historical Novel
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Book Overview
Truth Crushed to Earth is historical fiction set in the pre-Abraham Lincoln years of America's nightmarish trend towards Civil war. It is an epic tale of Will Parker, a young self-emancipated slave whose deeds drove the action of a subsequent fugitive slave rebellion and rattled the passive resistance of Quakers and Mennonites in the Pennsylvania Dutch country. The death of a Maryland slave master and the insurrection touched off a firestorm of threatening protests in the hamlet of Christiana, PA, and nationwide. This resulted in a federal government witch hunt of fugitive slaves, free Black persons, and White abolitionists. International attention focused on the trial in historic Independence Hall of Philadelphia to see if and how the U.S. government would enforce the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Slavery, the mandate of a slave empire, opposition to human bondage and its inherent impediment to Manifest Destiny are examined by the interactions of characters modeled after their historical personas. Will Parker. A 17-year-old lad who fled a plantation Ann Arundel County, MD, had acquired survival skills different than most subservient types. His master made him a prize fighter. The dexterity required to triumph over challenges in do or die circumstances was hammered into Will. Defeat was not an option, either win or die in the trying. When Will landed in Christiana after fighting his master, pro and slavery forces had already been established. Kidnapping of free persons, capture of fugitive slaves, Underground Railroad trafficking, and a dire need for eager to work for pay laborers made for an incendiary mix. Will, champion of his people and his freedom fighters saved many from slavers and bounty hunters. Wealthy landowner Edward Gorsuch, however, did not relent in the pursuit of his channel property. September 13th, 1851, the mix ignited. Gorsuch died in the Christiana Rebellion. It set off a manhunt such as described by the Quarryville, Pennsylvania Sun Newspaper: there never went unhung a gang of depraved wretches and desperate scoundrels than some of the men employed as officers of the law to ravage this country and ransack private homes... The heretofore hidden legacy that emerged from this tale is the primordial battle waged within each character's personal triumph over fear and pursuit of God conscious freedom. Will and Eliza, Abe, Pink and Hannah, these black gems drew supportive awareness to their passing beyond the reach of white terror. It established an age of self-assertive independence that rebelled the harsh ambiguities of slavery. Harry Kendall's perspective open a new perspective in understanding the contemporary black experience.
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