The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution, 1770–1823

David Brion Davis

How did the revolutions of the late eighteenth century confront the problem of slavery in a world proclaiming liberty?

At a glance

You will see how fear of slave revolt, as much as principle, shaped Jefferson's attack on the slave trade in his draft Declaration
You will learn how Toussaint L'Ouverture's revolution in Haiti rattled slaveholders from Maryland to Brazil
You will understand why abolitionists faced such odds, as slaveholders claimed their property was beyond any central government's reach

Preface to the New Edition
Preface
A Calendar of Events Associated with Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Emancipation, 1770–1823
One What the Abolitionists Were Up Against
Two The Seats of Power, I
Three The Seats of Power, II
Four The Boundaries of Idealism
Five The Quaker Ethic and the Antislavery International
Six The Emancipation of America, I
Seven The Emancipation of America, II
Eight The Preservation of English Liberty, I
Nine The Preservation of English Liberty, II
Ten Antislavery and the Conflict of Laws
Eleven The Good Book
Epilogue Toussaint L’Ouverture and the Phenomenology of Mind