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William and Ellen Craft

HYPERLINK "http /www .nps .gov /archive /boaf /william ellencraft .htm http /www .nps .gov /archive /boaf /william ellencraft .htm

An interesting summary of the life and times of William and Ellen Craft can surprisingly be found at the website operated by the National Park Service (NPS . While it would seem somewhat out of place , the NPS site offers an excellent in depth look at the history of these two people (Note : In depth does not mean wordy . The actual word count of the webpage is fairly small

The

website points out that Ellen Craft passed herself off as a white man and , in turn , passed off her husband as a slave who was traveling with him ' Now , such a story would be bizarre on that basis alone but the tale becomes even more amazing when the site reveals that these two people traveled 1 ,000 miles to freedom while successfully pulling the wool over the eyes of all the unsympathetic people that they met along the way

The website includes a mention of William Craft 's narrative Running A Thousand Miles to Freedom ' and reprints certain select quotes from the work . These quotes allow the reader the opportunity to get a glimpse of what these two people went through and , hopefully , will stimulate the reader into acquiring a copy of the narrative and reading the complete account

Dred Scott 's Fight for Freedom : 1846 - 1857

http /www .pbs .org /wgbh /aia /part4 /4p2932 .html

Of all the court cases in the history of the United States , are more famous or infamous as the legendary court case of Dred Scott and his lengthy (and failed ) legal battle for his freedom . The tale of Dred Scott is , on one level , inspiring because it shows that if a person has the will and desire to stand up for himself , he can do it . On the other hand , the tale of Dred Scott is also a heartbreaking one as it shows that a person , no matter how in the right , can still fail in his quest when the obstacles are so corrupt that true justice becomes unattainable

PBS provides a terse summary of the life of Dred Scott and his failed bid for freedom that culminated in a landmark Supreme Court decision that stoked the fires that would eventually lead to civil war

PBS 's website begins by pointing out what the conclusion of the court case was : that slaves did not have a claim to US citizenship and that the federal government did not have the authority to bar slavery . The site then segues into a brief biography of who Dred Scott was and how he arrived at his decision to sue for his freedom . The site then concludes with a brief mention of how Dred Scott spent the remainder of his life after having lost his landmark court case

Kansas - Nebraska Act 1854

http /library .thinkquest .org /CR0215469 /kansas-nebraska_act .htm

If one is looking for a decent...