Struggle for Freedom: The Underground Railroad in Illinois

Struggle for Freedom: The Underground Railroad in Illinois

by Jeanne Schultz Angel

Illinoisans played prominent roles in antislavery movements preceding the Civil War. Understanding the wide range of motivations that might lie behind any given individual's opposition to slavery – commitment to human rights, belief in racial equality, economic considerations, and religious convictions – is important to understanding the escalation to war. Angel explores the role that the Underground Railroad played in the lives of Freedom Seekers and includes information about several significant slavery and antislavery sites in Illinois, including sundown towns.

Jeanne Schultz Angel is the Associate Vice President at Naper Settlement. She is a nonprofit administrator and museum professional with more than 25 years working within cultural institutions. She holds a Bachelors degree in Anthropology and Masters degree in History from Illinois State University. Angel served as executive director at the St. Charles Heritage Center, Lombard Historical Society/Sheldon Peck Homestead, and the Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park. In addition, she served as director of the Illinois Association of Museums where she is currently board president. She was accepted to the Illinois Humanities Road Scholar Speaker Bureau in 2013 to speak about her research in the anti-slavery movement and women's suffrage in Illinois. Most recently, she was the lead historian in Seeking Charlie: Connecting the Dots Left by a Freedom Seeker in Illinois, a grant funded by the Association of African American Life & History and the National Park Service.