Boys strapped to carpet looms in India; women trafficked into sex slavery across Europe; children born into bondage in Mauritania; and migrants imprisoned at gunpoint in the United States are just a few of the many forms slavery takes in the twenty-first century. There are twenty-seven million slaves alive today; more than at any point in history; and they are found on every continent in the world except Antarctica.To Plead Our Own Cause contains ninety-five narratives by slaves and former slaves from around the globe. Told in the words of slaves themselves; the narratives movingly and eloquently chronicle the horrors of contemporary slavery; the process of becoming free; and the challenges faced by former slaves as they build a life in freedom. An editors' introduction lays out the historical; economic; and political background to modern slavery; the literary tradition of the slave narrative; and a variety of ways we can all help end slavery today.Halting the contemporary slave trade is one of the great human-rights issues of our time. But just as slavery is not over; neither is the will to achieve freedom; "plead" the cause of liberation; and advocate abolition. Putting the slave's voice back at the heart of the abolitionist movement; To Plead Our Own Cause gives occasion for both action and hope.
#294674 in Books Cornell University Press 1998-06-25Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.49 x 1.14 x 6.45l; 1.45 #File Name: 0801434815368 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. This is a great history and a great read.By A CustomerIn "Asylum for Mankind" Professor Baseler masterfully weaves together the forces shaping Colonial America's immigration policies and patterns. In the old world struggles for global supremacy among European empires; the desire to provide a home for Europe's "wastrels and convicts;" attempts to populate the new world with subjects loyal to the mother country; and attempts to gain wealth for European powers all determined emmigration policies. In the new world colonists were.."torn by..[the]..promise to provide santuary for liberty and the victims of oppression while safeguarding the republic from immigrants who would pervert or destroy its principles and future development." Democratic and idealistic intent.."to fulfill their republican vision of an international community built on the free movement of goods and people"..coexisted with self serving desires to control the racial; religious; and ethnic composotion of the immigrants. To be sure; some of the talk of liberty and democracy was public relations hype. On the other hand was an honest determination to bould a nation.."where policies were determined by the needs of the people rather than the ambitions of princes." "Asylums for Mankind" provides an essential starting point for an understanding of present day struggles for and against racial;ethnic;religious; and multicultural equality.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A refreshing look at what made this country great.By A CustomerThis book reminds us of where we all started; what made the New World so attractive to the settlers and how the New World became and organized society. "Asylum for Mannkind" gives a new understanding of what settlers experienced and the prices they would pay for freedom.
