Thomas Jefferson and the Fight Against Slavery

Thomas Jefferson and the Fight Against Slavery - American Political Thought

Hardback (31 May 2024)

Save $8.34

  • RRP $75.39
  • $67.05
Pre-order

Includes delivery to the United States

10+ copies available online - Pre-order Dispatch on 31 May 2024

Publisher's Synopsis

In this groundbreaking work, Cara Rogers Stevens examines the fascinating life of Thomas Jefferson's book, Notes on the State of Virginia, from its innocuous composition in the early 1780s to its use as a political weapon by both pro- and antislavery forces in the early nineteenth century. Initially written as a brief statistical introduction to Virginia for French readers, Jefferson's book evolved to become his comprehensive statement on almost all facets of the state's natural and political realms. As part of an antislavery education strategy, Jefferson also decided to include a treatise on the nature of racial difference, as well as a manifesto on the corrupting power of slavery in a republic and a plan for emancipation and colonization. In consequence, his book—for better or worse—defined the boundaries of future debates over the place of African-descended people in American society.

Although historians have rightly criticized Jefferson for his racism and failure to free his own slaves, his antislavery intentions for the Notes have received only cursory notice, partly because the original manuscript was not available for detailed examination until recently.

By analyzing Jefferson's complex revision process, Thomas Jefferson and the Fight against Slavery traces the evolution of Jefferson's views on race and slavery as he considered how best to persuade younger slaveholders to embrace emancipation. Rogers Stevens then moves beyond Jefferson to examine contemporary responses to the Notes from white and black intellectuals and politicians, concluding with an attempt by Jefferson's grandson to implement elements of the Notes's emancipation plan during Virginia's 1831–1832 slavery debates.

Book information

ISBN: 9780700635979
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Imprint: University Press of Kansas
Pub date:
DEWEY: 973.46092
DEWEY edition: 23/eng/20230607
Language: English
Number of pages: cm.
Weight: 635g
Height: 229mm
Width: 152mm
Spine width: 34mm