Many residents of northern states despised the black population that they absorbed after the Civil War ended. It was essentially an economic refugee crisis for

Many residents of northern states despised the black population that they absorbed after the Civil War ended. It was essentially an economic refugee crisis for the working class there. The Cincinnati area was full of what amounted to German-Catholic draft-dodgers (from the 1848 wars) who helped slaves across the Ohio River because they were just as marginalized and figured they had nothing to lose by doing what their religion demanded.