A partnership of the Mid-Hudson Antislavery History Project, the Office of the Dutchess County Historian, and the Stanford Historical Society is planning a 2019 commemoration of a seminal event in the history of our nation … and in the history of Dutchess County.

On February 13, 1819, Congressman James A. Tallmadge, Jr., a native of the town of Stanford here in Dutchess County, introduced an amendment to the bill to admit the Missouri Territory into the Union as a state. The amendment called for the prohibition of slavery within the state and sparked a debate across the country that nearly provoked a civil war in 1820. The Tallmadge Amendment, as it came to be known, and the ensuing Missouri Crisis constitute an almost-forgotten example of Dutchess County’s impact on national and international history.

We are organizing a commemorative event for Sunday, February 10, 2019, to explore Congressman Tallmadge’s stand against slavery and the long history of Dutchess County’s fight for the abolition of slavery.  The program will take place at BANGALLWORKS [site of the former Bangall Whaling Company] in the hamlet of Bangall, beginning at 1:30pm. Our presenter, Mr. John R. Van Atta, is a globally-recognized authority on the Missouri Crisis and the author of the critically-acclaimed volume Wolf by the Ears: The Missouri Crisis, 1819-1821.

The program is free. Parking will be available at the Red Devon