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

The author explores the international impact and social significance of antislavery thought in a critical era of political and industrial revolution. He examines the implications and historical consequences of challenging the long-accepted institution of slavery. The study not only provides a comparative account of early antislavery movements, but also uses the controversies over slavery to analyse shifting attitudes towards labour, social order, political representation, and the authority of law and religion. The focus is on the Anglo-American experience, but Davis makes illuminating comparisons with the history of slavery in France and Latin America. The book also offers portraits of important historical figures, including Thomas Jefferson, Granville Sharp, Bryan Edward, and Moreau de Saint-Mery, and accounts of key groups, movements, and bodies of literature. Through the history of slavery, Davis explores many areas of the social and intellectual history of the revolutionary era, creating a new reading of the entire age.

Table of Contents:
Preface to the New Edition Preface Notes on Terms A Calendar of Events Associated with Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Emancipation, 1770-1823 1: What the Abolitionists Were Up Against 2: The Seats of Power, I 3: The Seats of Power, II 4: The Boundaries of Idealism 5: The Quaker Ethic and the Antislavery International 6: The Emancipation of America, I 7: The Emancipation of America, II 8: The Preservation of English Liberty, I 9: The Preservation of English Liberty, II 10: Antislavery and the Conflict of Laws 11: The Good Book Epilogue: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the Phenomenology of Mind

About the Author :
David Brion Davis is Sterling Professor of History at Yale University. A former President of the Organization of American Historians, he has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Bancroft Prize, and the American Historical Association's Beveridge Award. His most recent book is The Boisterous Sea of Liberty: A Documentary History of America from Discovery through the Civil War (Oxford University Press, 1998, with Steven Mintz).

Review :
"The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution by David Brion Davis is a work of majestic scale, written with great skill. It explores the growing consciousness, during a half century of revolutionary change, of the oldest and most extreme form of human exploitation. Concentrating on the Anglo-American experience, the historian also pursues his theme wherever it leads in western culture. His book is a distinguished example of historical scholarship and art."--From the citation for the 1975 National Book Award "In...The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture, David Brion Davis displayed his mastery not only of a vast source of material, but also of the highly complex, frequently contradictory factors that influenced opinion on slavery. He has now followed this up with a study of equal quality....No one has written a book about the abolition of slavery that carries the conviction of Professor Davis's book. And this rich and powerful book will, I am sure, stand the test of time--scholarly, brilliant in analysis, beautifully written."--J. H. Plumb, The New York Times Book Review "As Davis's work demonstrates, good intellectual history is absolutely essential for an adequate understanding of the past; its proper subject is the way flesh-and-blood human beings make sense out of their world and try to gain some kind of mastery over it....It is obvious that Davis's interpretation was not imposed on his sources but resulted from a struggle to give them whatever structure and coherence seemed most consistent with the data itself and with the best recent historical work in the field. Nor does he attempt to explain all responses to the problem of slavery as ideological....Indeed the greatest strength of the book arises from its ability to provide a convincing general interpretation while doing full justice to a variety of historical experiences and perspectives....It is hard to imagine anyone going over the same ground for a long time."--George M. Fredrickson, The New York Review of Books "A worthy successor to Davis's magnificent The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture. Together, these volumes represent the high point of scholarship in this field. They will undoubtedly remain at the center of discussion for many decades and perhaps beyond."--Edward Genovese "One of the many remarkable things about this book is that it equals and even exceeds the level of scholarship and history established by the author's preceding volume."--C. Vann Woodward "A superb continuation of Davis's work on the problem of slavery in western culture. It is a fascinating and profound study of the rise of the antislavery movement in England and America, as well as of the social, political, and economic milieu in which it operated."--Stanley L. Engerman "A penetrating work of mature scholarship and extraordinary erudition....It deals with a historical problem of vast and enduring moral importance."--Michael Kammen "One of the most stunning books I have ever read....What is overpowering is the magnitude of the questions Davis asks and the seriousness with which he probes their complexities."--Sanford Levinson