The whites want slaves; and want us for their slaves; but some of them will curse the day they ever saw us. As true as the sun ever shone in its meridian splendor; my colour will root some of them out of the very face of the earth. They shall have enough of making slaves of; and butchering; and murdering us in the manner which they have. -from Walker's Appeal in Four Articles The rage of blacks in slavery-era America is not something we today must merely imagine: we can read their angry words in documents like these. David Walker; born to a free black woman; was by the 1820s a leading black intellectual and a proponent of black unity as a necessary precursor to throwing off the shackles of slavery. His Appeal; published in 1829; warned of a violent and bloody slave insurgency; and startled even abolitionists with its vehemence. He was rehabilitated by Henry Highland Garnet two decades later; when he-a runaway slave since childhood-republished it; in the single 1848 volume of which this is a replica; along with his own Address to the Slaves of the United States of America. Garnet's call for massive slave uprisings had been similarly rebuffed several years earlier; but worsening tensions between the North and the South; and between slave owners and abolitionists; created an atmosphere in which rising militancy was more welcome. In their passionate writings; the bitter wrath of Walker and Garnet echoes across the decades; reminders of the shameful past that continues to haunt America as a nation to this day. DAVID WALKER (c. 1780s-1830) was a contributor to Freedom's Journal; the first black newspaper in America. HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET (1815-1882) was editor of the black newspaper The Clarion; and; after the Civil War; served as the president of Avery College and as an advisor to President James Garfield.
#597081 in Books 2011-03-01 2011-03-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.26 x .66 x 5.53l; .50 #File Name: 1594485038256 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Be Thankful!By Michael PetersonIt is a easy to read; and understand outline of life back in a time where religion guided their lives more so than today. It really makes us realize how lucky we are to have good housing; with all sorts of ways to maintain our hygiene. Imagine rinsing off in a public bath with water which had been used many times already. And NO soap! Yeah; better them trhan us!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. easy read. First read a friend's copyBy RayInformative; clear; easy read. First read a friend's copy. I now have a purchased copy for my home library.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Why I didn't like this book.By LCI didn't like this book because it is not well-written. The author's sentences are so run-on that by the time I get to the end of his sentence; I have forgotten the subject. I am continuing to slog through the book; because he has a great deal of good information. But the book is difficult to read. I have learned; that if I read it out loud; I can follow his train of thought. The book seems to be a transcription of his lectures; with frequent post scripts added in parenthetically.I would not recommend this book for these reason.
