Revisiting the origins of the British antislavery movement of the late eighteenth century; Christopher Leslie Brown challenges prevailing scholarly arguments that locate the roots of abolitionism in economic determinism or bourgeois humanitarianism. Brown instead connects the shift from sentiment to action to changing views of empire and nation in Britain at the time; particularly the anxieties and dislocations spurred by the American Revolution. The debate over the political rights of the North American colonies pushed slavery to the fore; Brown argues; giving antislavery organizing the moral legitimacy in Britain it had never had before. The first emancipation schemes were dependent on efforts to strengthen the role of the imperial state in an era of weakening overseas authority. By looking at the initial public contest over slavery; Brown connects disparate strands of the British Atlantic world and brings into focus shifting developments in British identity; attitudes toward Africa; definitions of imperial mission; the rise of Anglican evangelicalism; and Quaker activism.Demonstrating how challenges to the slave system could serve as a mark of virtue rather than evidence of eccentricity; Brown shows that the abolitionist movement derived its power from a profound yearning for moral worth in the aftermath of defeat and American independence. Thus abolitionism proved to be a cause for the abolitionists themselves as much as for enslaved Africans.
#744804 in Books The University of North Carolina Press 2003-05-19Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.00 x 6.25l; 1.23 #File Name: 0807854484352 pages
Review
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Good BookBy Alexander DumasErika Lee argued that the American implementation of exclusion policies towards Chinese played a significant role in transforming the United States from a nation of immigrants to a `gatekeeping nation'. Her book is divided into four parts: Part one deals with the events leading up to the eventual Exclusion Act of 1882 by addressing the public paranoia of invading Chinese `hordes' as well as the attitudes of Immigration Officials towards Chinese; Part two discusses the restrictive nature of the exclusion policies that specifically targeted Chinese as well as how Chinese circumvented these oppressive laws with the aids of lawyers; judges; non-Chinese (that is; European) friends and various others; Part three examines the inefficiency of the exclusion policies as the policies failed to sufficiently curb amount of Chinese entering the United States but rather resulted in corrupt Immigration Officials as well as smugglers creating a `black market' for immigration and thus labelling Chinese as one of the first `illegal' immigrants in the process; Part four analyses the immediate consequences of the Exclusion Act of 1882 by explaining that the exclusion policies resulted in Chinese illegally entering the United States which caused Government Officials to raid Chinese residence and places of business at anytime as well as construing that the vigilant surveillance of Chinese by Government Officials; indeed the general public; created an ambience of fear for Chinese communities. Furthermore; Erika Lee's extensive use of both primary and secondary sources made this book especially compelling. Lee cited hundreds of primary and secondary sources which she integrated beautifully in her book.Overall; I believe her argument to be just and well formulated. However; it is hard to believe that the Chinese alone caused the US to become a "gatekeeping" nation. American Nativism extended far beyond the Chinese during this time. At the time of the Exclusion Act of 1882; for example; Americans already had a distaste for the new stock immigrants coming into the US. The Immigration Restriction League; as a another example; sought virulently to exclude most (if not all) immigrants like the Italians; Slavs; and numerous others. Indeed; it could be argued that the Chinese were just the first victims of American Nativism and American treatment for Chinese merely reflected future treatments towards other immigrants groups. As a result; the Exclusion Act of 1882 was just the first set of Acts arising from a predetermined goal at ultimately excluding all immigrants. The Chinese were just the first set of victims.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A Good Book to Learn FromBy Jules1592I really enjoyed reading this book because it's educational and about a subject that I had not explored before. I bought this book as a textbook for one of my college classes. The reason why it gets 3 stars is that the writing style is terrible. The author writes in circles; using the same examples over and over again; then starting a new paragraph to describe in detail what I thought I had just read all about. The number of times that words like "also;" "as well as;" and "in addition to" were used drove me nuts. Almost every sentence contains one of those phrases; or so it seems.I would recommend this book as a good learning tool; especially for someone who learns best through repetition. It definitely drives its points home. I would not really recommend this book to someone for casual reading or someone who already knows about the Exclusion Era because it is simplistic and the writing style is frustrating.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Keith B. CuffyGreat product. Excellent shipping times
