An American Trilogy: Death, Slavery, and Dominion on the Banks of the Cape Fear River

by Steven M. Wise

The Cape Fear River runs through Bladen County, North Carolina, population 33,000. On its western bank, in the town of Tar Heel, sits the largest slaughterhouse in the world. Deep below the slaughterhouse, one may find the arrowheads of Siouan-speaking peoples who roamed there for a millennium. Nearer the surface is evidence of slaves who labored there for a century. And now, the slaughterhouse kills the population of Bladen County, in hogs, every day. In this remarkable account, Wise traces the history of today's deadly harvest. From the colonies to the slave trade, from the artificial conception and unrecorded death of one single pig to the surreal science of the pork industry—whose workers continue the centuries of oppression—he unveils a portrait of this nation through the lives of its most vulnerable. His explorations ultimately lead to hope from a most unlikely the Baptist clergy, a voice in this wilderness proclaiming a new view of creation.

Genres: Animals

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 14, 2009

About the author

Steven M. Wise (born 1952) is an American legal scholar who specializes in animal protection issues, primatology, and animal intelligence. He teaches animal rights law at Harvard Law School, Vermont Law School, John Marshall Law School, Lewis & Clark Law School, and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. He is a former president of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project. The Yale Law Journal has called him "one of the pistons of the animal rights movement."

Wise is the author of An American Trilogy (2009), in which he tells the story of how a piece of land in Tar Heel, North Carolina, was first the home of Native Americans until they were driven into near-extinction, then a slave plantation, and finally the site of factory hog farms and the world's largest slaughterhouse. Though the Heavens May Fall (2005), recounts the 1772 trial in England of James Somersett, a black man rescued from a ship heading for the West Indies slave markets, which gave impetus to the movement to abolish slavery in Britain and the United States (see Somersett's Case). Drawing the Line (2002), which describes the relative intelligence of animals and human beings. And Rattling the Cage (2000), in which he argues that certain basic legal rights should be extended to chimpanzees and bonobos.

Wise received his undergraduate education at the College of William & Mary. While at William & Mary, Wise first became interested in politics through his involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement. Wise was awarded his J.D from Boston University in 1976, and became a personal injury lawyer. He was inspired to move into the area of animal rights after reading Peter Singer's Animal Liberation (1975), often referred to as the bible of the animal liberation movement. A practicing animal protection attorney, he is president of the nonprofit Nonhuman Rights Project, where he directs its Nonhuman Rights Project, the purpose of which is to obtain basic common law rights for at least some nonhuman animals. He lives in Coral Springs, Florida.

Wise teaches “Animal Rights Jurisprudence” at the Vermont, Lewis and Clark, University of Miami, and St. Thomas Law Schools, and has taught “Animal Rights Law” at the Harvard Law School and John Marshall Law School. He is also working on a fifth book, which will be a memoir about the Nonhuman Rights Project.

He has authored numerous law review, encyclopedia, and popular articles. His work for the legal rights of nonhuman animals was highlighted on Dateline NBC and was the subject of the documentary, A Legal Person.

He regularly travels the world lecturing on animal rights jurisprudence and the Nonhuman Rights Project, and is a frequent guest on television and radio discussing animal rights law and the Nonhuman Rights Project.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I greatly appreciated the discussion of the re-inscribing of spaces; while times may change and move forward there are spaces that continue to be used for oppression and horrific atrocities. In this case - genocide of Native Americans, slavery and now the massive, industrial slaughter of hogs. It was also interesting how Wise brings religion into the discussion and how the Bible is often used as a source of justifying dominion and dominance of people and animals.
Somewhat of a dry read and I also felt that Wise diminishes his credibility by using large block quotations and not really unpacking his own opinions or adding his own voice to the discussion; rather he pulls from numerous other sources and philosophies. Still adding to my food/discourse library, but not at the top of my list.

[d4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can make it past (or even skip) the first fifty-six pages of unbearably dry writing, this book actually does have some insight to offer. Perhaps it isn't entirely the author's fault since the history of Bladen County isn't the most riveting information. (I spent the first twenty-three years of my life there so I could say worse things about it.)

Reading this and Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy has me pondering the role of religion--not just its share of blame in our cruelty towards animals, but its role in the future of animal welfare. Like it or not, how effective has any social change been without the support of religious institutions?

[Claryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no idea how this book got published. It could hardly be less cohesive, which is truly a shame, because I found the first two chapters engaging and mostly well-crafted, and I think there's really something to the connections Wise is making.

[Nicole Winget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and interesting but not particularly well written. The first half of the book far exceeds the second in keeping your attention.

Overall, a call to treat animals better with interesting history and frankly sad examples of how we treat them currently.