In the leadup to the Civil War, Maine was as divided as any other region of the country over slavery and emancipation. That's the core argument of a new book, "The Divided North", by Maine author Carol Gardner.

Gardner tells this story through the lens of two families from Portland, which in the 1800s was a passthrough for many fugitives from slavery. The Rubys were African American abolitionists, and the Gordons were a white family of ship captains and slave traders.

Gardner spoke with All Things Considered host Ari Snider.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Gardner: Now, despite the fact that they were close neighbors over two or three generations, the Rubys and the Gordons ended up on opposite sides of the slavery/emancipation issue. We believe that Ruben Ruby was active in

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