I have avoided entering the fray on this discussion so far, but I have to respond to this comment, which seems incorrect to me. May I ask what is the source of data for this idea? Boston was actually one of the hot-beds of Abolitionists long before the Civil War began. The history of slavery in the United States is long, complicated, and tragic, and all of us discussing that history should be very careful to make sure the facts we state are correct.
My US Civil War Studies Class in College. Which by the way was in Shepherdstown, West Virginia (very much involved in the abolition movement and Civil War as well). Boston was a hot bed of abolitionists. But many in Boston had "house servants." Boston was winding down their slavery before the war, (it was actually abolished in 1780 there) but during the Colonial Period they were very active in the slave trade. Even slaves worked at Harvard University (they actually wrote their own research paper on
this).
The 54th Massachusetts Regiment is widely known for being one of the first "All Black" units in the Civil War. It was made up of "free blacks" and many former slaves from many surrounding states. They fought courageously even though it was made known that any such soldiers caught by the Southern Army as prisoners of war would be sold into slavery.
So sorry that I did not put the correct context, but Boston had a very influential presence on slavery in "The New World."
I do wish however that Playmobil would have done some more historical accuracy when they did their US Civil War Klickies (the ability to have a 54th Massachusetts or the "Buffalo Soldiers" from the American West, but historically there were black soldiers in the Confederate Army towards the end of the war (which essentially earned them freedom as a reward for fighting)- that would have been appealing to me as I love the history of the 54th.)
