Category: Slavery
Platform of the Virginia Conservatives April 1869 “setting forth the policy of the white people of the state”
This platform was adopted by the Virginia Conservative Party on April 29, 1869. The Conservatives were a party made up of Democrats and old Whigs…
NY Times Documents and Photographs the Places Black People Were Sold in the United States
The New York Times has an important article this weekend by SUNY Binghamton history professor Anne C. Bailey documenting the places where slaves were sold in…
New Yorker Reviews a New History of an Old Slave Revolt and How It Helped End the International Slave Trade
The New Yorker has an interesting review by Casey Cep of a new book on a slave revolt in Jamaica called Tacky’s Revolt. According to…
Thomas Nast Depicts the Emancipation of the Slaves in a Giant Cartoon
New Year’s Day is also the anniversary of Lincoln’s January 1, 1863 signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. To celebrate the signing, Tomas Nast sketched a…
“Who’s Afraid of Harriet Tubman?”-Not Ms. Magazine
When the film “Harriet” was about to be released, a social media call for a boycott of the film was widely circulated. While the film…
Five Historians’ Joint Critique of New York Times “1619” Series on Slavery
One of the most talked about popular history initiatives of 2019 was the “1619” series on the 400th Anniversary of the arrival of the “first…
Episcopal Church Examines Its Involvement With Slavery in Delaware
I found an interesting 2009 report from the Episcopal Church in Delaware on that denomination and slavery. I was prompted to research by the discussion…
This May Be Your Last Chance to See “Harriet” in Theaters
Most “small” films get a four week national theatrical release. The new film “Harriet” on Harriet Tubman is now in its fifth week of release,…
Book Review: The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War by Andrew Delbanco
The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War by Andrew Delbanco published by…
Historian Sean Wilentz: The End of Slavery Was Anything But Inevitable
Historian Sean Wilentz has an interesting article in the New York Review of Books on how surprising the abolition of slavery was to most Americans…