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Thursday, December 2, 2010

Exodusters Movement

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This image(1) is a 1877 handbill urging African Americans to move to Kansas, especially those who were from the south.
 The image above is of Benjamin "Pap" Singleton and a handbill 

As Moses had led the exodus of the ancient Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt to the "promise land", modern clergymen and other leaders led former slaves and their families out of the defeated but hostile American south and into what they believed was the promise land of Kansas. One of those many leaders was by Benjamin "Pap" Singleton. He was a very important piece to the exodus movement. In the south, blacks found themselves having to overcome great obstacles to obtain land. Singleton learned from organizations involved with the anitslavery movement. Working with several politicians such as Edward P. McCabe who was a land developer and speculator, a lawyer, an immigration promoter, a newspaper owner, and a politician.



 This image (2)



This image (3) is a picture of the Exodusters along with the Kansas Freedman's Relief Association (KFRA). In response to the mass exodus from the south in 1879 and 1880, Kansas Governor and Quaker John St. John established the KFRA.  The Association was created in 1879 to “aid destitute freedmen, refugees and immigrants” who were migrating to Kansas. The KFRA provided temporary shelter, employment, and monetary aid and assistance in resettling in various Kansas counties.To help house the influx of African migrants, the KFRA built and maintained a temporary shelter called the Barracks, located in Topeka.  This temporary facility eventually housed over four hundred men, women and children as they transitioned to their life in Kansas.


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