Permanent Art Collection, Wisconsin Art Collection
Made/Created
Artist
Unidentified
Date made
circa 1848 - circa 1867
Notes
Maybe ca. 1848-1867 based on dates Booth lived in Wisconsin.
Dimensions
Dimension Description
Framed Size
Height
38 in
Width
32 in
Interpretative Labels
Label
Sherman M. Booth (1812-1904) made outsized contributions to the abolitionist struggle, the growth of the newspaper industry, and Wisconsin politics.
In 1854, Booth led the 5,000-strong mob which stormed the Milwaukee County Jail to free Joshua Glover, an escaped slave imprisoned under the Fugitive Slave Act. The mob secured Glover's freedom and the case became a national flashpoint for the abolitionist struggle. A newspaperman, Booth founded and edited a host of important papers which helped consolidate the newspaper industry in Wisconsin and built support for the abolitionist struggle. Booth was instrumental in another watershed victory for Black freedom in Wisconsin, in the 1865 case of Ezekiel Gillespie which resulted in the enfranchisement of Black men in Wisconsin.
Explore Milwaukee Public Library holdings to learn more about Booth, Glover, Gillespie, and the struggle for abolition and Black suffrage in Wisconsin and beyond.
