David Ruggles (1810-1849) was the most active friend of black people in trouble in New York. He co-founded the Committee of Vigilance in 1835, which defended black New Yorkers from kidnappers and "liberated" visiting slaves from their owners. He fought ardently in court for the legal rights of fugitives. The work was exhausting. In 1839, he moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, and devoted himself to hydropathic healing.

To hear an imagined conversation between David Ruggles and a domestic servant named Rachel Saunders, click on the audio icon.