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William Parker (1821 - 1891) was a former slave who escaped to Pennsylvania, where he became an abolitionist and anti-slavery activist in Christiana, where he was a farmer and led a black self-defense organization. He was notable as a principal figure in the Christiana incident (or riot), 1851, also known as the Christiana Resistance. Edward Gorsuch, a Maryland slaveowner who owned four slaves who had fled over the state border to Parker's farm, was killed and other white men were wounded in the party to capture the slaves. The events brought national attention to the challenges of enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Upon Gorsuch's death, Parker fled the area traveling by the Underground Railroad to Rochester, New York, where he met up with Frederick Douglass. He helped Parker get across the river to Canada. Settling in Buxton, Parker learned to read and write, and became a correspondent for Douglass' ''North Star'' newspaper. Thirty-eight men were indicted in the Christiana case, but only Hanway, a white man, was tried in the US District Court in Philadelphia, Judge John K. Kane presiding. He was acquitted by the jury in 15 minutes. Frederick Douglass in his autobiography discusses several incidents of resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law that contributed to the law's demise. He ranked the events at Christiana that, "more than all else, destroyed the fugitive slave law".〔Frederick Douglass, ''The Essential Frederick Douglass'', Wilder Publications, 2008, p. 434.〕 Ten years before the Civil War, the events in Christiana generated the following headlines, "Civil War, The First Blow Struck",〔Thomas P. Slaughter, ''Bloody Dawn - The Christiana Riot and Racial Violence in the Antebellum North'', Oxford University Press, 1991, p. ix.〕 foreshadowing events to come and highlighting the historical significance of the event. William Parker was renowned in the area for his activism against slavery, and his bravery in the protection of his and other blacks' civil and political rights. He assisted many runaway slaves and was one of many people in the area involved in the Underground Railroad. It was his boldness and leadership in the resistance at his house in Christiana that sparked the events that day. The "riot" had been largely attributed to the leadership of white Quakers. Accounts report they were there in support of their black neighbors and not openly engaged in the resistance. ==Early life== William Parker was born into slavery on Roedown Plantation in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, to Louisa Simms, an enslaved woman. His father may have been a white man, as he was of mixed race.〔William Parker, "The Freedman's Story - Parts I and II", ''Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. XVII, February/March 1866, p. 153.〕 His mother died when Parker was very young. In his memoir and slave narrative, ''The Freedman's Story'',〔(The Freedman's Story )〕 Parker later wrote that he learned how to fight as a young boy to gain a spot by the warmth of the fire. He dreamed of being free, especially to avoid the regular sale and separation of family members and loved ones. Parker likened the experience of such sales to death and a funeral, as loved ones were usually never seen again. He was approximately seventeen when he ran away to seek his freedom. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Parker (abolitionist)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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