When Owing a Shilling Costs a Dollar

Lewis g. Clarke born into slavery was separated from his scottish father and quadroon mother at the age of six in madison county kentucky. The atrocities he suffered and witnessed under his new masters were abominable and way beyond what most slaves endured during slavery. After escaping from bondage clarke then traveled to cambridge massachusetts and became a primary spokesman for the abolitionist movement throughout the northeast and canada during the 1840s and 1850s. While in cambridge he lived in the home of aaron and mary safford where he met many times with harriet beecher stowe mary's stepsister as well as many other luminaries of the abolitionist movement. The rebellious quadroon slave george harris of mrs. Stowe's book uncle tom's cabin was identified by her as based significantly upon the life of clarke.