Slavery on a Knife’s Edge: How Three Virginians Kept Illinois Free and Saved the Union

Illinois’ contribution to the Union victory in the Civil War is well documented. Less well known is the very real danger that Illinois could have become a slave state. The decades long struggle to keep Illinois free from the looming shadow of slavery was spearheaded by three Virginians - Thomas Jefferson, James Lemen, and Edward Coles. Jefferson was the philosopher who early on recognized the threat and took action from Washington to forestall it. He commissioned James Lemen, a Revolutionary War veteran and true pioneer, to migrate to Illinois and organize and lead the resistance there. Edward Coles, raised on a Virginia plantation, brought the slaves he inherited to Illinois and freed them there. He became Illinois’ second Governor and led the crucial final effort that finally defeated the menace. This book details the efforts of these three men, and is an epic saga in American history.