The Road from Abolition to Suffrage

This is a story of inspiring individuals who moved Nantucket—and the nation—towards a more just and equitable distribution of political power. It begins with a simple will written in 1710 endowing a formerly enslaved man with property and runs up to the enactment of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920 granting voting rights to women.

As the title suggests, the story has two parts—the first looks at the scourge of slavery and the second highlights those individuals with Nantucket connection involved in fighting for civil rights for women. Curiously, the pursuit on whales mirrors the former, while the latter reflects Nantucket’s post-whaling period.

Early on, the virtue of tolerance, so prized in the Quaker community, paved the road for a multitude of ethnicities to engage in the pursuit of whaling. With the decline of the Wampanoag population, African Americans, Pacific Islanders, Azoreans, and Cape Verdeans stepped into those roles. The Underground Railroad had a stop here as escaped slaves benefited from the social distancing of long whaling voyages.

For more information, click here.