In the decades before the Civil War, the Underground Railroad assisted tens of thousands of fugitive slaves to safety in the northern states and Canada. The Underground Railroad was not only an epic story of dramatic escapes and individual courage. It was also the nation's first racially integrated political movement, in which both black and white Americans, both men and women, worked together for a common end. Mr. Bordewich, the author of Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America, a national history of the Underground Railroad, and other books, will speak about the history of the Underground Railroad, how it was organized, how it operated, how it survived, and how the Hudson River Valley - a major south-to-north corridor of underground activity - fit into the larger national system. He will separate the rich factual history of the Underground Railroad from the myths that have grown up around it, and show how it helped to transform and radicalize northern public opinion about both the humanity of enslaved African Americans and the institution of slavery.

The Mid-Hudson Antislavery Project will host a reception following the lecture, with refreshments graciously provided by the Poughkeepsie Ice House.

Tickets are $10 pre-order, $15 at the door, and children 16 and under are free. You may reserve tickets, including a season ticket package for all 3 upcoming lectures, by contacting the Dutchess County Historical Society at 845-47101630 or via email at dchistorical@verizon.net. The Dutchess Heritage Lecture Series is made possible by the generous support of the Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Central Hudson, and the Dutchess County Historical Society.

For more information on the program season, please visit www.dutchessny.gov/history.