Not to be confused with "Stonewall" Jackson, our Thomas Jackson was an immigrant from England who lived and worked in Reading, Pennsylvania from the 1830s to his death in 1878. In addition to running a successful rope manufactory, Jackson became involved in the movement to end slavery in the U.S. He wrote many impassioned critiques concerning slavery, Confederate sympathizers, conciliatory Republicans, and demagogues. Some of these letters, now preserved at the Library of Congress, appeared in periodicals in Reading and his native Ilkeston, England. Other writings never moved beyond the private circulation of his transatlantic family, though his words surely left a mark on the relatives who read them. For contemporary readers, these letters are a historical treasure trove offering a frank, often wry perspective on the conflicts and crises that defined an era.