A forgotten soul whose steely determination and kind heart helped bring an end to slavery, and raise a troubled family during turbulent times.
Mother of Freedom:
Mum Bett and the Roots of Abolition.
By Ben Z. Rose
(April, 2009, TreeLine Press, 155 pages, $13.00).
ISBN: 978-0-9789123-1-4
As the Revolutonary War drew to a close, a black slave known as Mum Bett summoned the courage to take her owner to court in a bid for her freedom. She succeeded--becoming one of the first slaves to gain her freedom through the courts.
Though slavery in the New England town in which she lived had been legal for more than 100 years, Mum Bett sought help from Theodore Sedgwick, an ambitous 33 year old attorney who agreed to take her case. Their quiet success set in motion a sequence of events that would topple an established way of life.
As a free woman Mum Bett would protect Sedgwick's family during the Shays' Rebellion, a test of civil authority that shook a fragile government to its roots. She also became a second mother to Sedgwick's children, as he pursued a career in Congress, and his wife Pamela experienced the anguish of mental depression.
As we search for insight into those who planted the first seeds of abolition, Mum Bett's courage and conviction act as an inspiration, and a reminder of the tremendous strength required to uproot American slavery.
-To order an author-signed copy, contact the Northshire Bookstore, (800) 437-3700.
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