#mosesdickson

[blerdsunite]

#mosesdickson #knightsofliberty #soldier #minister #liberator #barber #lincolnuniversity #amechurch #undergroundrailroad Moses Dickson was born free in Cincinnati April 5, 1824. As a teen he traveled through the South as a barber and saw the conditions of his people and it lit a fire within. He became a man of several hats. In 1846 he and twelve other men in St. Louis formed a secret organization called the Knights of Liberty. Their core mission was to end slavery by insurrection. They had a plan that ten years from the time that they first formed, they would strike and start their war. By 1856 they had over 47,000 men throughout the southern states that were ready to go to war. They took an oath of secrecy, "I can die, but I can not reveal the name of any member until the slaves are free." In August 1856 they created a smaller organization called the Order of Twelve in Galena, Illinois. They would train secretly at night preparing for warfare. In 1857 they were ready to march. They were going to hit Atlanta and they expected to have nearly 200,000 men. Their plan came to a halt because relations between the North and the South were becoming strained. So they decided to wait. Dickson also had a talk with John Brown before his raid on Harper's Ferry October 16, 1859. He told Brown it was too early. Brown's raid threw the Knights plans off also. Dickson went on to join the AME church in 1866 and became an ordained minister. The AME church was notorious for its early militancy and willingness to use the gun when needed. In 1866 he had a hand in Lincoln Institute getting started, which now goes by Lincoln University in Missouri. In 1871 Moses became the Grand Master of the Prince Hall Masons in Missouri. In 1872 he also organized the International Order of Twelve Knights and Daughters of Tabor, who were all about self sufficiency. The illustration of Moses Dickson is from the 1879 book A Manual of the Knights of Tabor and Daughters of the Tabernacle. https://www.instagram.com/p/BylAKsPhbLu/?igshid=1q1ismhvk9p93