You are invited to the Groton History Center program to celebrate Juneteenth.
Sunday, June 19, 2022, 2 - 4 PM, The Center, 163 West Main Street, West Groton
Jeffrey Boutwell will return to Groton and speak about George Boutwell’s role in ending slavery. In the spring and summer of 1862, George Boutwell was Abraham Lincoln’s point man in advocating for emancipation, both as a moral duty and a military necessity, at a time when the President had to be cautious about getting ahead of public opinion. (author website)
George Boutwell’s voice, the voice that made Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation a reality by stating publicly during the summer of 1862 what the president for political reasons couldn’t yet say: that the Civil War would not be won until we “take slavery by the throat and destroy it.”
Indeed, as writer, historian, and science policy specialist Jeffrey Boutwell puts it, “For seven decades, George Boutwell sought to “redeem America’s promise” through racial equality, economic equity, and the humane use of American power abroad.”
Made possible by a grant from the Commissioners of Trust Funds.