Fugitive Slaves and the Unfinished American Revolution: Eight Cases, 1848-1856

This book posits that the American Revolution--waged to form a "more perfect union"--still raged long after the guns went silent. Eight major fugitive slave stories of the antebellum era are described and interpreted to demonstrate how fugitive slaves and their abolitionist allies embraced Patrick Henry's motto "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" and the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. African Americans and white abolitionists seized upon these dramatic events to exhort citizens to complete the Revolution by extending liberty to all Americans. Casting fugitive slaves and their slave revolt leaders as heroic American Revolutionaries seeking freedom for themselves and their enslaved brethren, this book provides a broader interpretation of the American Revolution.

Author: Gordon S. Barker
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Published: 05/16/2013
Pages: 232
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.60d
ISBN13: 9780786469871
ISBN10: 0786469870
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States | General
- Social Science | Ethnic Studies | American | African American & Black Studies

About the Author
Gordon S. Barker is professor of history at Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.