"A Citizen of No Mean City": Jermain W. Loguen and the Antislavery Reputation of Syracuse

Abstract

This article describes the life and struggles of Jermain W. Loguen (originally named Jarm Logue), born a slave, who escaped to Syracuse, New York. Once in Syracuse, he became active in the Underground Railroad, the abolition movement, and even entered politics as a public speaker. His letters can be found in the Syracuse University Special Collections, as part of the Gerrit Smith papers. Smith was also a leading abolitionist who corresponded with major figures in the antislavery movement and influential freed slaves such as Frederick Douglass.