Read Online The New Year's Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Novels) by Jennifer Chiaverini - Free Book Online
Authors: Jennifer Chiaverini
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heart of a dedicated abolitionist,” Julius remarked.
“He must have been a fine talker,” said Adele, with a glance that suggested she knew another man who fit that description. “Don’t forget, he did renounce slavery. He also begged his father to free his slaves, but his father refused and disowned his son. Or the son disowned the father, it isn’t entirely clear. John Colcraft later wrote that on that day he had lost his birthright but regained his soul.”
“Fine words, indeed,” said Sylvia, though her own experiences had made it impossible to consider any familial estrangement without regret, without wondering what might have been.
“The couple settled in Philadelphia for a time, which is where John began his artistic career.” Adele led them down the hall at a pace that allowed them to examine the framed cartoons more carefully. “As a Quaker and a pacifist, he battled the evils he saw in the world around him with a pen rather than a sword. He began with innocuous illustrations for a city neighborhood, but as the Civil War approached, his drawings took on a more editorial slant. As his fame—or in certain circles, notoriety—grew, he moved to New York and became a regular artist for Harper’s .”
“Which brought them here,” Sylvia guessed, admiring the front room of the house as Adele and Julius led them inside and invited them to sit.
Adele nodded. “At the end of 1862, John received a considerable inheritance from his mother’s side of the family—‘untainted by the stain of slavery,’ as he put it—and he used it to build this home for Harriet and their two children. They moved into it in the spring of 1863, at a time of rising tensions in the city.”
The Emancipation Proclamation had been in force for several months by then, Adele reminded them. Proslavery organizations responded to the increasing political power of abolitionists by warning working-class New Yorkers of the increased competition for laborers’ jobs that would inevitably follow should slavery be abolished and the freed slaves move North. A new, stricter draft law only fanned the flames of unrest: Every male citizen between the ages of twenty and thirty-five, as well as all unmarried male citizens between thirty-five and forty-five, were considered eligible for military service and could be chosen for duty by lottery. Certain exceptions could be made, however. If a man could hire a substitute to take his place or if he could pay the federal government a three-hundred-dollar exemption fee, he would not have to serve. African-Americans were not subject to the draft because they were not considered citizens.
Working-class men, who would bear the brunt of the new law, were outraged. “Then, as it would now, the conflict played out in the press,” said Adele. “John Colcraft was right in the thick of it, skewering his political opponents and satirizing racism and hypocrisy on both sides.” She gestured to the four walls. “His most significant work was created in this very room. That desk is a reproduction of the one he used, based upon his own sketches of the original.”
Fear, anger, and racial tensions rose throughout the city as spring turned into summer and the first lottery approached, Adele told them. On July 11, the first names were drawn, and for nearly two days the city remained quiet, holding its breath, waiting to see if the danger had passed. But early in the morning of July 13, the tensions erupted in violence and bloodshed. At first the rioters targeted only military and government buildings, which to them represented all that was unfair about the new conscription process. People were safe from attack as long as they did not attempt to interfere with the mob’s destruction. Before long, however, the rioting took an uglier, more sinister turn as the long-simmering racial tensions finally boiled over. Mobs began attacking African-American residents, their businesses, and any other symbol of black
“He must have been a fine talker,” said Adele, with a glance that suggested she knew another man who fit that description. “Don’t forget, he did renounce slavery. He also begged his father to free his slaves, but his father refused and disowned his son. Or the son disowned the father, it isn’t entirely clear. John Colcraft later wrote that on that day he had lost his birthright but regained his soul.”
“Fine words, indeed,” said Sylvia, though her own experiences had made it impossible to consider any familial estrangement without regret, without wondering what might have been.
“The couple settled in Philadelphia for a time, which is where John began his artistic career.” Adele led them down the hall at a pace that allowed them to examine the framed cartoons more carefully. “As a Quaker and a pacifist, he battled the evils he saw in the world around him with a pen rather than a sword. He began with innocuous illustrations for a city neighborhood, but as the Civil War approached, his drawings took on a more editorial slant. As his fame—or in certain circles, notoriety—grew, he moved to New York and became a regular artist for Harper’s .”
“Which brought them here,” Sylvia guessed, admiring the front room of the house as Adele and Julius led them inside and invited them to sit.
Adele nodded. “At the end of 1862, John received a considerable inheritance from his mother’s side of the family—‘untainted by the stain of slavery,’ as he put it—and he used it to build this home for Harriet and their two children. They moved into it in the spring of 1863, at a time of rising tensions in the city.”
The Emancipation Proclamation had been in force for several months by then, Adele reminded them. Proslavery organizations responded to the increasing political power of abolitionists by warning working-class New Yorkers of the increased competition for laborers’ jobs that would inevitably follow should slavery be abolished and the freed slaves move North. A new, stricter draft law only fanned the flames of unrest: Every male citizen between the ages of twenty and thirty-five, as well as all unmarried male citizens between thirty-five and forty-five, were considered eligible for military service and could be chosen for duty by lottery. Certain exceptions could be made, however. If a man could hire a substitute to take his place or if he could pay the federal government a three-hundred-dollar exemption fee, he would not have to serve. African-Americans were not subject to the draft because they were not considered citizens.
Working-class men, who would bear the brunt of the new law, were outraged. “Then, as it would now, the conflict played out in the press,” said Adele. “John Colcraft was right in the thick of it, skewering his political opponents and satirizing racism and hypocrisy on both sides.” She gestured to the four walls. “His most significant work was created in this very room. That desk is a reproduction of the one he used, based upon his own sketches of the original.”
Fear, anger, and racial tensions rose throughout the city as spring turned into summer and the first lottery approached, Adele told them. On July 11, the first names were drawn, and for nearly two days the city remained quiet, holding its breath, waiting to see if the danger had passed. But early in the morning of July 13, the tensions erupted in violence and bloodshed. At first the rioters targeted only military and government buildings, which to them represented all that was unfair about the new conscription process. People were safe from attack as long as they did not attempt to interfere with the mob’s destruction. Before long, however, the rioting took an uglier, more sinister turn as the long-simmering racial tensions finally boiled over. Mobs began attacking African-American residents, their businesses, and any other symbol of black
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