A Founding Father’s Fight Against Slavery

Date: February 9, 2012
Contact: Mindi Rambo, 212-668-2208

New York, NY - The National Park Service (NPS) is offering a special program on the New York Manumission Society as part of Black History Month. "A Founding Father's Fight Against Slavery: Alexander Hamilton and The New York Manumission Society" will be offered at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Feb. 18 at Hamilton Grange National Memorial. The event is free and open to the public.  

During the 1780s, Alexander Hamilton was one of the founders of the New York Manumission Society, an organization instrumental in the abolition of slavery in New York. The program explores - through words and images - the Society's lasting legacy as well as Hamilton's role in its creation and works. 

As the society was the first organized abolitionist group in New York State, its members grappled with the mix of philosophical beliefs and hard realities in their own lives.  Many of the Society's members, though ideologically opposed to slavery themselves, were in fact slaveholders.

This ambiguity and the inherent contradictions that arose from it are central themes of this hour-long program, which also explores the legacy of this organization and how its early works helped to build a foundation for the abolitionist movement in New York City. 

This program is offered in the ground floor multimedia room on a first-come, first-served basis. The capacity of the multimedia room is 25 persons. The Grange will also hold its normally scheduled guided house tours; every hour on the hour, with the exceptions of two self-guided open-house sessions between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., and from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. The capacity for the tours is 15 visitors on the historically-furnished floor at any given time. Reservations are not accepted. 

For more information about visiting Hamilton Grange, call (646)-548-2010 or visit www.nps.gov/hagr on the web. You can also follow us at Twitter.com/HamiltonGrngNPS .

About Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Hamilton Grange National Memorial preserves the home of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, economist and political philosopher. He also authored the majority of "The Federalist Papers." Hamilton chose the then-rural quiet of Harlem as the site for his Federalist-style country residence. This home was completed in 1802 and named "The Grange" after the Hamilton family's ancestral home in Scotland.  Fatally wounded on July 11, 1804 in a duel with his political rival Vice President Aaron Burr, Hamilton was only able to enjoy the home for two years.

Hamilton Grange is located at 414 West 141st Street (in St. Nicholas Park, between St. Nicholas and Convent avenues). Public transportation is available nearby via subway and bus. Please visit www.mta.info to plan your route.