Chelmsford Public Library

Making sense of the civil war, presented by Richard P. Howe, Jr

eng

videorecording

Making sense of the civil war

Recorded at the Chelmsford Public Library on January 13, 2012

presented by Richard P. Howe, Jr

Library hourFriday morning lecture series

Mr. Howe takes a long-term view of the coming of the war as it played out in Lowell and vicinity. Because the city's economy was so dependent on cotton, there was a great deal of sympathy for the south and a hands-off attitude when it came to slavery. But simultaneously in Lowell, there was a very strong Abolitionist movement and the city served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. The presence of these two very different attitudes towards slavery within the same community created friction that manifested itself in a number of incidents. This "big picture" view allows an examination of the causes of the war through these incidents in a single community. Richard P. Howe Jr. is the Register of Deeds of the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds. He is a graduate of Providence College and Suffolk University Law School and holds an MA in History from Salem State University. Mr. Howe is the creator of richardhowe.com, a widely read blog about Lowell history and politics. He has lectured frequently on the American Civil War and it's impact on the city of Lowell and surrounding communities

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