The Suppression of the African Slave Trade in the United States (1638-1870) - Historical Study for Academic Research & American History Education
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Product Description
The Suppression Of The African Slave Trade To The United States Of America 1638-1870 by W.E.B. Dubois [1896]. This monograph was begun during my residence as Rogers Memorial Fellow at Harvard University, and is based mainly upon a study of the sources, i.e., national, State, and colonial statutes, Congressional documents, reports of societies, personal narratives, etc. The collection of laws available for this research was, I think, nearly complete; on the other hand, facts and statistics bearing on the economic side of the study have been difficult to find, and my conclusions are consequently liable to modification from this source. The question of the suppression of the slave-trade is so intimately connected with the questions as to its rise, the system of American slavery, and the whole colonial policy of the eighteenth century, that it is difficult to isolate it, and at the same time to avoid superficiality on the one hand, and unscientific narrowness of view on the other. While I could not hope entirely to overcome such a difficulty, I nevertheless trust that I have succeeded in rendering this monograph a small contribution to the scientific study of slavery and the American Negro. I desire to express my obligation to Dr. Albert Bushnell Hart, of Harvard University, at whose suggestion I began this work and by whose kind aid and encouragement I have brought it to a close; also I have to thank the trustees of the John F. Slater Fund, whose appointment made it possible to test the conclusions of this study by the general principles laid down in German universities. W.E. BURGHARDT Du BOIS. Wilberforce University, March, 1896.
Customer Reviews
The final paragraph of the book is a haunting piece of writing... and what I think says it all."It behooves the United States, therefore, in the interest both of scientific truth and of future social reform, carefully to study such chapters of her history as that of the suppression of the slave-trade. The most obvious question which this study suggests is: How far in a State can a recognized moral wrong safely be compromised? And although this chapter of history can give us no definite answer suited to the ever-varying aspects of political life, yet it would seem to warn any nation from allowing, through carelessness and moral cowardice, any social evil to grow. No persons would have seen the Civil War with more surprise and horror than the Revolutionists of 1776; yet from the small and apparently dying institution of their day arose the walled and castled Slave-Power. From this we may conclude that it behooves nations as well as men to do things when they ought to be done."Du Bois details, with grim proficiency, the start, growth and end of the slave trade in the United States. From the colonial beginnings to the confirmation of the Thirteenth Amendment. Breaking it down by each state and attitudes towards it at the time to paint a picture of people with little worry for what was to come. I don't believe it's a book for everyone. We're talking about a mans Harvard thesis after all. Certainly don't read if you're looking for a story. This is purely academic in nature and will be a tough read for those who aren't interested in the amounts of slaves transported, duties paid for the importation of slaves, bills put forth and struck down when it came to it all.But if you take the time, which I highly suggest you do, it's a subtly powerful look into a span of time that Americans, like myself, seem to lack on an educational basis. I certainly don't remember more then "Back then there was slavery, now onto the Civil War!" when I was in school. While I understand we can't cover the entire breadth of human, or even American history, in a single semester, I'm glad I have the desire and energy to explore these topics now. I'll be looking for more writings by Du Bois in the future.
