The war before the war : fugitive slaves and the struggle for America's soul from the Revolution to the Civil War

Resource Information

The work The war before the war : fugitive slaves and the struggle for America's soul from the Revolution to the Civil War represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Memorial Hall Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The war before the war : fugitive slaves and the struggle for America's soul from the Revolution to the Civil War

Title remainder

fugitive slaves and the struggle for America's soul from the Revolution to the Civil War

Statement of responsibility

Andrew Delbanco

Creator

• Delbanco, Andrew, 1952-

Author

• Delbanco, Andrew, 1952-

Subject

• Fugitive slaves -- United States -- History -- 19th century
• Slavery -- United States -- History -- 18th century
• Fugitive slaves -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- United States -- History -- 19th century
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Causes
• Slavery -- United States -- History -- 19th century
• Fugitive slaves -- United States -- History -- 18th century

Language

eng

Summary

For decades after its founding, America was really two nations--one slave, one free. There were many reasons why this composite nation ultimately broke apart, but the fact that enslaved black people repeatedly risked their lives to flee their masters in the South in search of freedom in the North proved that the "united" states was actually a lie. Fugitive slaves exposed the contradiction between the myth that slavery was a benign institution and the reality that a nation based on the principle of human equality was in fact a prison-house in which millions of Americans had no rights at all. By awakening northerners to the true nature of slavery, and by enraging southerners who demanded the return of their human "property," fugitive slaves forced the nation to confront the truth about itself. The fugitive slave story illuminates what brought us to war with ourselves and the terrible legacies of slavery that are with us still

Cataloging source

YDX

Dewey number

973.7/115

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

LC call number

E450

LC item number

.D45 2018

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography