Abolitionism: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #578

by Richard S. Newman

From early slave rebels to radical reformers of the Civil War era and beyond, the struggle to end slavery was a diverse, dynamic, and ramifying social movement. In this succinct narrative, Richard S. Newman examines the key people, themes, and ideas that animated abolitionism in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-centuries in the United States and internationally. Filled with portraits of key abolitionists - including Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Anthony Benezet, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Elizabeth Heyrick, Richard Allen, and Angelina Grimké - the book highlights abolitionists' focus on social and political action. From the Underground Railroad and legal aid for oppressed people to legislative lobbying and military service, abolitionists employed every conceivable means to attack slavery and racial injustice. Their collective struggles helped bring down slavery - the most powerful economic and political institution of the age - across the Atlantic world and inspired
generations of reformers.

Sharply written and highly readable, A Very Short Introduction offers an inspiring portrait of the men and women who dedicated their lives to fighting racial oppression.

ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Philosophy, Law, American History, United States

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2018

About the author

Richard Newman (Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo) is Professor of History at Rochester Institute of Technology. He directs the Library Company of Philadelphia and specializes in the study of American reformers in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, including early black leaders, abolitionists, and modern environmentalists.

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent survey of slavery abolition efforts through the Civil War, international in scope though the focus is on the US. Hugely illuminating in terms of the variety of approaches taken and how they worked together.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abolitionism: A Very Short Introduction provides a helpful survey of the transatlantic movement to abolish slavery. Although the work briefly addresses the history of abolition in Europe and South America, the focus of this book is on abolition in the United States. Newman's account at places seems to follow the contours of Manisha Sinha's excellent work The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition, especially as he traces abolitions roots to the work of enslaved and formerly enslaved blacks seeking to secure their own freedom. The book's "References" section serves as a helpful bibliography of primary and secondary sources on abolition. One pretty significant error that is worth mentioning is that he book repeatedly refers to Samuel P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln, as Samuel Chase. This could be especially confusing for anyone unfamiliar with abolition's storyline. Still, for anyone that wants to get up to speed quickly on the history of abolition in the United States, this little book is a valuable resource.

[Amarillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great introduction to the people, places and events involved in abolitionism, enough to form an elementary understanding of abolitionism, enough to draw parallels to other political movements I am familiar with.

I especially appreciated how it explored the connections abolitionism had to black empowerment, feminism, and the overall fight for equality. Through my reading (listening) I have also been able to draw parallels between abolitionism and veganism.

Whenever vegans compare animal exploitation to human slavery, others tend to be offended, rejecting the notion. But truly, even a basic level of knowledge on the history of abolitionism (like this book provides) makes plain the similarities between veganism and abolitionism as political movements and as philosophies against exploitation.

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview by a first-rate scholar in the field of abolition studies. Reading the history of abolitionism is like discovering a new country, a new people I had never been taught about before. There are heroes in spades in this history. Highly recommend.

[Elli · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is straightforwardly uninstructive on the titular subject matter and strange when it otherwise editorializers; as an example of the latter the author states "William Lloyd Garrison’s career was deeply indebted to black activism. As a young editor at the Genius of Universal Emancipation, he first encountered David Walker's uncompromising Appeal, which inspired Garrison to become more militant. At The Liberator, Garrison adopted Walker’s confrontational style, using exclamation points and crusading editorials to condemn both slavery and racism. In many ways, Garrison was the first “Elvis Presley” figure in American culture. By adopting an identifiably black style, Garrison gained notoriety and fame." If you perform a quick Google search for William Lloyd Garrison and look at pictures or read his writing (e.g. "MR. GARRISON: Sunday evening last, the friends of humanity and
impartial liberty, in this village, had the pleasure of listening to an excellent and convincing address on the subject of slavery from Mr. Burleigh, agent of the Middlesex County Anti-Slavery Society, who
treated his subject as one well knowing its merits. His arguments were sound, logical and forcible, and his inferences clear and just. (from: https://fair-use.org/the-liberator/ Volume 5 Number 22)) I am just completely at a loss for how to make sense of the Elvis Presley connection. It might seem an off-hand comment not worth worrying about but the author often makes claims of fact more directly related to the subject matter of the book like "As the world’s first social movement, abolition was something new under the sun." without any citation which justifies this obviously incorrect statement (there were social movements recorded in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism which dates from BC times and I wouldn't even put forward its records as being definitively the world's first social movement). If the author meant that abolition was the first social movement that occurred in countries around the world as opposed to being limited to one country the claim would be more plausible but would still require evidence (and I would still think that claim incorrect). Another example of error occurs when the author writes "Among the first documented slave rebellions was a 1522..." which is just obviously wrong with many counterexamples like the First Servile War (135-132 BC)) and then the second and third Servile wars.

[Bevan Houston · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had expected to get a better picture of the main currents within global (or Atlantic, at least) abolitionism. The book touched on these topics a little bit, but the weight of the effort was giving a tour of major events leading up to American abolition during the Civil War. Obviously one of the biggest threads to address, but one that is so thoroughly covered in most Civil War books. It felt redundant to spend so much time here, when lacking more effort at coloring in the bigger picture of how and why the tide turned so much in the West between 1800 and 1860.

[Greg Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful but slim look at abolition, good enough to feel unsatisfied by the brevity.

Aiming to be both short and comprehensive, it means the author has to march through a bunch of the events and people, only briefly touching on any one incident: Dred Scott gets a page and a half, John Brown gets three, etc.

I did appreciate how it covered the international nature of abolition, with achievements in one country inspiring others, and anti-slavery activists finding refuge from fugitive slave laws in Britain.

[AlohaKarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Newman is an expert in abolitionism and this is an excellent very short introduction. I highly recommend it if you want a short and concise overview from an expert historian.

[Charles H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introductory teaching text also useful for the already initiated.

[Jason Roe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great information on the basics of Abolitionism.

[Nathan Billington · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible find, this is a thorough introduction to Abolitionism. While focusing primarily on the United States, Newman covers abolitionist movements of the British and Spanish Empires as well. This book serves as an excellent jumping off point, a table of contents if you will, of Abolitionist key events, movements and prominent figures to be explored further.

Also, critically for our society today, Newman reminds us of the deeply Christian moral arguments which churches and society rallied around to urgently press action for abolition and equality. For if all people aren’t free, can our society really lay claim to be a Christian one?