Escape To America

About the Book

Upon Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the nobility of Europe met in Vienna to divide up his empire. After a year of conniving and scheming, (along with lavish parties, opera, and winter games), they finally patched together a crazy-quilt map of Europe without regard for the welfare or ethnicity of its citizens. The resulting instability and endless confl icts, coupled with the lure of freedom in America, ledto a mass exodus from Central Europe.

However, the trip to America was fraught with suffering and mortal danger.Many were jailed or pressed into military service for trying to leave their homeland without permission. Thousands died during the ocean crossing. To pay their passage, some were forced to indenture themselves, which amounted to near-slavery in many cases. Some were turned back after the harrowing crossing. Some were cheated by unscrupulous hucksters because they could not understand English. Many were forced into hazardous employment such as appallinglydangerous coalmining.

This tale deals with two young lovers who make the heart-wrenching decision to escape to America from Schleswig-Holstein in 1835, knowing they will never see their families again.

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