Read Part One HERE
In this story I continue to look at a woman named Prudence Crandall. She lived from 1803 - 1890.
When Prudence continued undaunted to teach her African American students, the Canterbury legislature passed its 1833 "Black Law" (repealed in 1838), making it illegal to run a school teaching African American students from a state other than Connecticut. Prudence was arrested and jailed. Her first trial ended in a hung jury; the second trial resulted in her conviction, which was overturned by a highter court. On the night of September 9, 1834, an angry mob broke most of the school's windows and smashed furniture. Fearing for her students' safety, Prudence finally closed the school.
In 1835, Prudence married Baptist minister and abolitionist Calvin Philleo. The couple left Connecticut, ultimately settling in La Salle County, Illinois, where Prudence ran a school and participated in the women's suffrage movement. After her husband's death in 1874, Prudence moved to Elk Fals, Kansas, to live with her brother. In 1886, prompted by repentant Canterbury citizens, Prudence received a small pension from the Connecticut legislature. She died in 1890.
Read Part Eighty-Nine HERE
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