First published 2015
Davis examines how Americans grappled with slavery and freedom in his trilogy's final volume. He analyzes the Haitian revolution's dual impact, terrifying white Americans while inspiring enslaved people. The book investigates colonization efforts to relocate freed slaves to Africa, revealing how both races and all political groups viewed this contentious project. Davis documents slavery's dehumanizing effects and highlights how freed slaves themselves drove abolitionist movements. He traces religious influences on emancipation thinking and shows how the nation struggled to navigate its transition into an era of freedom. This work represents fifty years of research into Western culture's relationship with bondage and liberation.
Genres: history, 20th-century, american, african-american, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction
Setting: Africa, America
Period: Age of Emancipation
384 pages · Hardcover · Oxford University Press
Content warnings: slavery