Book Review Bachelor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Book Review Bachelor - Essay Example Thus, Crossing the Border is generally acknowledged by scholars as a fundamental book that chronicles the history of Buxton, one of the most successful all-black settlements in nineteenth-century Canada. In her work, Sharon A. Roger Hepburn traces the evolution of educational institutions, businesses, and political structures in Buxton in the mid-1800s and the focus of the author is on the degree to which black settlers achieved autonomy and the control over their lives in a hostile white environment. The author undertakes an important study of Buxton, Ontario, through a comprehensive study of the manuscripts, newspapers, census records, deeds, maps, and other materials and she is effective in recreating a detailed story of the Black Canadian community through the lives of individual people. According to the author, the Black Canadian community, roughly twelve miles south Chatham, close to the shores of Lake Erie in Raleigh Township, Kent Country, espoused freedom and hope for the fu ture and accepted blacks who were single, married, and widowed; young and old; male and female; freeborn and fugitive. "This study chronicles Buxton from its conception and founding through its first decade. A group of individuals, united in their determination to build a heaven for those fleeing slavery and repressive legal statutes, formed themselves into a community that offered social and economic opportunity. Overcoming initial opposition from neighboring whites and backed by the Presbyterian Church of Canada and philanthropic Canadians of both races, Buxton grew steadily in population and stature." (Hepburn, 1) Therefore, Hepburn provides a convincing account of the Black Canadian community settlement in Buxton, Ontario, and she is effective in explaining why Buxton succeeded when other settlements failed. A careful reading of Crossing the border: A free Black community in Canada by Sharon A. Roger Hepburn confirms that the author eloquently traces the development of Buxton from its conception and founding, and her main focus is to give an explanation for its status as the 'most successful all-black community established in Canada before the U.S. Civil War.' In her attempt to establish the point that the Black Canadian community was the most successful all-black community established in Canada, the author compares this community with similar communities in Canad