Wisconsin History Day By Day

Related Web Sites:
Rescue of Joshua Glover, a Runaway Slave

Slave launched battle between state, federal governments

The Underground Railroad in Wisconsin


Read More About It

"Find Freedom: The Untold Story of Joshua Glover, Runaway Slave" by Ruby West Jackson and Walter T. McDonald

"Wisconsin Defies the Fugitive Slave Law" by James Clark

"Stand the Storm" (videocassette) Wisconsin Public Television

"Freedom Train North" by Julia Pferdehirt


Vocabulary:

mob
battered
revolt


Interesting Fact:

Glover's former owner, Benjamin Garland, was arrested in Wisconsin on a charge of assault and battery (against Glover) but the charges were later dropped and he was set free.


Study Questions:

  • What was the Fugitive Slave Act and why did people disagree with it?
  • Who is Sherman Booth and what did he have to do with Joshua Glover?
  • What happened to Joshua Glover once he was freed from the Milwaukee jail?


    Search these newspaper databases for additional stories about Joshua Glover:

  • Wisconsin State Journal/The Capital Times
  • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  • BadgerLink Wisconsin Newsstand
  • Wisconsin Historical Society


    U.S. historical events that occurred on March 11:

    1888: A blizzard in the northeastern U.S. results in more than 400 deaths.
    1941: The Lend-Lease bill is signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt, allowing war supplies to be sent to countries fighting Germany, Italy and Japan.



    • March 11

    March 11, 1854: A mob, disagreeing with the Fugitive Slave Act, battered down the jail door in Milwaukee freeing runaway slave Joshua Glover. Glover escaped from his Missouri master in 1852 and came to Racine where he worked in a mill. His master found him and had him put in the Milwaukee jail, leading to a small revolt on March 11, 1854.

    Wisconsin History Day By Day homepage
    January - December calendar page