Yet all the attention on Townshend, Morse, and Chase rendered invisible the many years of petitioning, lobbying, reporting, and political agitation that preceded the repeal. It sometimes sounded as if—as Greeley had suggested—Townshend and Morse were alone in supporting repeal, as if they had made it happen through sheer force of will and savvy politicking. The reality was much different. In Ohio and across the free states, Black activists had persistently and creatively demanded repeal, and growing numbers of white people had become persuaded that racist laws were unacceptable and
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