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American to the Backbone: The Life of James Pennington, the Fugitive Slave Who Became One of the First Abolitionists
The incredible story of a forgotten hero—a former slave, Yale scholar, minister, and international leader of the Antebellum abolitionist movement
At the age of 19, scared and illiterate, James Pennington, escaped from slavery in 1827 and soon became one of the leading voices against slavery prior to the Civil War. Just ten years after his escape, Pennington was ordained as a priest after studying at Yale and was soon traveling all over the world as an anti-slavery advocate. He was so well respected by European audiences that the University of Heidelberg awarded him an honorary doctorate, making him the first person of African descent to receive such a degree. This treatment was a far cry from his home across the Atlantic, where people like him, although no longer slaves, were still second-class citizens.
As he fought for equal rights in America, Pennington’s voice was not limited to the preacher’s pulpit. He wrote the first-ever “History of the Colored People” as well as a careful study of the moral basis for civil disobedience, which would be echoed decades later by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. More than a century before Rosa Parks took her monumental bus ride, Pennington challenged segregated seating in New York City street cars. He was beaten and arrested, but eventually vindicated when the New York State Supreme Court ordered the cars to be integrated. Although the struggle for equality was far from over, Pennington retained a delightful sense of humor, intellectual vivacity, and inspiring faith through it all. American to the Backbone brings to life this fascinating, forgotten pioneer, who helped lay the foundation for the contemporary civil rights revolution and inspire generations of future leaders.
At the age of 19, scared and illiterate, James Pennington, escaped from slavery in 1827 and soon became one of the leading voices against slavery prior to the Civil War. Just ten years after his escape, Pennington was ordained as a priest after studying at Yale and was soon traveling all over the world as an anti-slavery advocate. He was so well respected by European audiences that the University of Heidelberg awarded him an honorary doctorate, making him the first person of African descent to receive such a degree. This treatment was a far cry from his home across the Atlantic, where people like him, although no longer slaves, were still second-class citizens.
As he fought for equal rights in America, Pennington’s voice was not limited to the preacher’s pulpit. He wrote the first-ever “History of the Colored People” as well as a careful study of the moral basis for civil disobedience, which would be echoed decades later by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. More than a century before Rosa Parks took her monumental bus ride, Pennington challenged segregated seating in New York City street cars. He was beaten and arrested, but eventually vindicated when the New York State Supreme Court ordered the cars to be integrated. Although the struggle for equality was far from over, Pennington retained a delightful sense of humor, intellectual vivacity, and inspiring faith through it all. American to the Backbone brings to life this fascinating, forgotten pioneer, who helped lay the foundation for the contemporary civil rights revolution and inspire generations of future leaders.
478 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
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75 people want to read
About the author
Christopher L. Webber
47 books13 followers"Priest, poet, and farmer" is the short summary. After many years of ministry in inner city, overseas (Tokyo), suburban, and rural locations I lived for twenty years in the northwest corner of Connecticut. Twenty acres of woods, garden, and orchard provided an excellent balance to writing. There's no better cure for writer's block than splitting some more firewood. Less than two years ago, however, I moved to San Francisco and am enjoying life in the city with its conveniences and cultural opportunities. Two books have been published in recent months and although my next book deadline is February 15, I'm doing what I can to promote "Dear Friends: Letters from St. Paul to Christians in America" and "Give Me Liberty: Seeches and Speakers that Shaped America."
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 2, 2016
This was one of those books that seemed to last forever, and I almost gave it 3 stars. It's very scholarly and filled with facts. I gave it 4 stars because it is about a man who was complicated and the details paint a better picture of him.
I have read many books on abolitionists and about escaped slaves. This is not a beginner book. There are a lot of historic figures mentioned. I knew who a lot of them were which was very helpful. If you have not read much on this subject start with books about more famous abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. Read Uncle Tom's Cabin. After you have more knowledge then take on this book. For a while you might want to give up on it, but try to finish it. It is very insightful so well worth it. Some biographies read like a novel, but this does not.
I have read many books on abolitionists and about escaped slaves. This is not a beginner book. There are a lot of historic figures mentioned. I knew who a lot of them were which was very helpful. If you have not read much on this subject start with books about more famous abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. Read Uncle Tom's Cabin. After you have more knowledge then take on this book. For a while you might want to give up on it, but try to finish it. It is very insightful so well worth it. Some biographies read like a novel, but this does not.
May 16, 2021
Pennington was mentioned briefly in other books I have read about the Abolitionists and/or African Americans in the antebellum era. Thus, I decided that it might be worthwhile to peruse a book devoted to this man. In most respects it was.
Webber did a more than credible job of integrating the information from dozens of primary and secondary sources covered in an 8 page bibliography into a very comprehensive narrative of Pennington’s life. In providing quotations from the latter’s writings, speeches, and a few sermons the author helped the reader to gain a clear sense of how this man viewed a wide variety of issues that were relevant to African American life from the 1830’s through and after the Civil War. These included such things as anti slavery, temperance, Christian missions to Africa, anti colonization, the right to vote, and the right to a fair trial. Also described were Pennington’s efforts at teaching African American children, his work as a pastor, his helping other escaped slaves via Underground RR, and his advocacy for African Americans to have equal access to public transportation in NYC in the mid/late 1850’s.
Other elements of American to the Backbone demonstrated solid scholarship. There were 28 pages of footnotes. The chapters were well organized into discrete periods of Pennington’s life. The prose was largely direct and devoid of complex, compound sentences. Thus, it was readable. There were a number of photos or portraits of the many people noted over the course of the book. Finally, a relatively brief epilogue of 5 pages provided a nice summary and analysis of Pennington’s significance to the Abolitionist movement and of his legacy after his death.
Webber’s expertise in Christian theology served him in good stead by allowing him to provide a highly textured exposition of the theological underpinnings for Pennington’s work as an Abolitionist pastor. In fact, at times there was more detail about this than I would have preferred. For example, where the author went to great lengths to describe at least 3 of Pennington’s speeches about this one such description would have sufficed, IMHO. The same could be said about the detailed depictions of the rivalries which developed between the more activist, radical Abolitionists like Garrison and Garnett vs those like Pennington who wanted to rely on God’s ‘universal morality’ to overcome slavery in the South and racism in the North. While this was informative, there were times that it felt like TMI.
On the other hand, some aspects of Pennington’s life got short shrift. Eg, he learned how to read and write after he escaped slavery in 1827 at the age of 19. Within a few years he was teaching school. Shortly after that he was allowed to audit courses at Yale Seminary. How did he accomplish these remarkable feats? Also, he was only allowed to audit classes at Yale rather than fully enroll in them. How did he feel about this? What impact did this have on his views of established educational institutions, let alone Christianity? Finally, the White Abolitionist and benefactor Lewis Tappan played a very important role in Pennington’s career. Webber described him as controlling and condescending, if not racist. How did Pennington feel about this as the years went on?
Overall, I would recommend AttB to those with a great interest in African American abolitionists. While it is highly informative, some more active editing might have made it less onerous towards the end. I think that its 440 pages of narration could have been reduced to 375 or even less without any great loss.
Webber did a more than credible job of integrating the information from dozens of primary and secondary sources covered in an 8 page bibliography into a very comprehensive narrative of Pennington’s life. In providing quotations from the latter’s writings, speeches, and a few sermons the author helped the reader to gain a clear sense of how this man viewed a wide variety of issues that were relevant to African American life from the 1830’s through and after the Civil War. These included such things as anti slavery, temperance, Christian missions to Africa, anti colonization, the right to vote, and the right to a fair trial. Also described were Pennington’s efforts at teaching African American children, his work as a pastor, his helping other escaped slaves via Underground RR, and his advocacy for African Americans to have equal access to public transportation in NYC in the mid/late 1850’s.
Other elements of American to the Backbone demonstrated solid scholarship. There were 28 pages of footnotes. The chapters were well organized into discrete periods of Pennington’s life. The prose was largely direct and devoid of complex, compound sentences. Thus, it was readable. There were a number of photos or portraits of the many people noted over the course of the book. Finally, a relatively brief epilogue of 5 pages provided a nice summary and analysis of Pennington’s significance to the Abolitionist movement and of his legacy after his death.
Webber’s expertise in Christian theology served him in good stead by allowing him to provide a highly textured exposition of the theological underpinnings for Pennington’s work as an Abolitionist pastor. In fact, at times there was more detail about this than I would have preferred. For example, where the author went to great lengths to describe at least 3 of Pennington’s speeches about this one such description would have sufficed, IMHO. The same could be said about the detailed depictions of the rivalries which developed between the more activist, radical Abolitionists like Garrison and Garnett vs those like Pennington who wanted to rely on God’s ‘universal morality’ to overcome slavery in the South and racism in the North. While this was informative, there were times that it felt like TMI.
On the other hand, some aspects of Pennington’s life got short shrift. Eg, he learned how to read and write after he escaped slavery in 1827 at the age of 19. Within a few years he was teaching school. Shortly after that he was allowed to audit courses at Yale Seminary. How did he accomplish these remarkable feats? Also, he was only allowed to audit classes at Yale rather than fully enroll in them. How did he feel about this? What impact did this have on his views of established educational institutions, let alone Christianity? Finally, the White Abolitionist and benefactor Lewis Tappan played a very important role in Pennington’s career. Webber described him as controlling and condescending, if not racist. How did Pennington feel about this as the years went on?
Overall, I would recommend AttB to those with a great interest in African American abolitionists. While it is highly informative, some more active editing might have made it less onerous towards the end. I think that its 440 pages of narration could have been reduced to 375 or even less without any great loss.
March 10, 2023
Excellent biography, with a few unfortunate typos.
August 24, 2011
It is not often that an author can take the time to research and then write a compelling biography of a forgotten American hero. The pace of the book is deliberate at times, always interesting and, in the end, it gave me a perspective of the emancipation process that I had not fully understood. Sure there are dramatic events in the ex-slave's life which thrilled (his runaway danger; running an underground railway; 100 years before Rosa Parks he was arrested in NYC on a tram, same reason!) but what sticks if that his ethic, his form of intellectual opposition was the example Martin Luther King Jr. would adopt and follow a century later.
I strongly recommend this book.
I strongly recommend this book.
September 6, 2011
I should preface this by saying my Dad wrote this book, so I have little objectivity. However, this covers a number of subjects (19th Century American History, early American church history, abolition) that are not normally my interests and I found the book completely compelling. Pennington's life was a dramatic one; he escaped slavery and within just a few years was studying at Yale and soon ordained a minister. His story is narrated here thoroughly and gracefully.
September 8, 2011
An important story. Pennington was the minister who performed Frederick Douglass's marriage. At the time, he was still a fugitive slave, though very active in the abolitionist movement.
I found the story fascinating, though this book tries to cover way too much detail. If this book were a textbook on Pennington's life, it may be necessary, but you do not need to know where he was invited to tea on a particular trip. I finally gave up and did not finish it.
I found the story fascinating, though this book tries to cover way too much detail. If this book were a textbook on Pennington's life, it may be necessary, but you do not need to know where he was invited to tea on a particular trip. I finally gave up and did not finish it.
July 1, 2015
I had to literally make myself finish this book. The writer was all over the place. Not much about James W.C. Pennington! It may have been a better read if it was 2 books instead of one. Very disappointing.
May 26, 2013
Extremely thorough and scholarly. The casual reader (myself included) would have enjoyed the material edited down to maybe a third of the voluminous details.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews