Title Force and freedom : black abolitionists and the politics of violence / Kellie Carter Jackson

Published Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2019] ©2019

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Description 1 online resource (vi, 177 pages) : illustrations Series America in the nineteenth century America in the nineteenth century. Contents Forcing freedom: the limits of moral suasion -- Fight, flight, and fugitives: the fugitive slave law and violence -- From prayers to pistols: the struggle for progress -- Black leadership: the silenced partners of Harpers Ferry -- A carbonari wanted: violence, emigration, and the eve of the civil war Summary "From its origins in the 1750s, the white-led American abolitionist movement adhered to principles of 'moral suasion' and nonviolent resistance as both religious tenet and political strategy. But by the 1850s, the population of enslaved Americans had increased exponentially, and such legislative efforts as the Fugitive Slave Act and the Supreme Court's 1857 ruling in the Dred Scott case effectively voided any rights black Americans held as enslaved or free people. As conditions deteriorated for African Americans, black abolitionist leaders embraced violence as the only means of shocking Northerners out of their apathy and instigating an antislavery war. In Force and Freedom, Kellie Carter Jackson provides the first historical analysis exclusively focused on the tactical use of violence among antebellum black activists. Through rousing public speeches, the bourgeoning black press, and the formation of militia groups, black abolitionist leaders mobilized their communities, compelled national action, and drew international attention. Drawing on the precedent and pathos of the American and Haitian Revolutions, African American abolitionists used violence as a political language and a means of provoking social change. Through tactical violence, argues Carter Jackson, black abolitionist leaders accomplished what white nonviolent abolitionists could not: creating the conditions that necessitated the Civil War. Force and Freedom takes readers beyond the honorable politics of moral suasion and the romanticism of the Underground Railroad and into an exploration of the agonizing decisions, strategies, and actions of the black abolitionists who, though lacking an official political voice, were nevertheless responsible for instigating monumental social and political change"--Publisher's description Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Online resource; title from resource home page (ProQuest Ebook Central, viewed September 14, 2020) Subject African American abolitionists -- History -- 19th century Antislavery movements -- United States -- History -- 19th century Violence -- Political aspects -- United States -- History -- 19th century Political violence -- United States -- History -- 19th century SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Slavery. African American abolitionists Antislavery movements Political violence Violence -- Political aspects United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9780812295870 0812295870

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