From Abolition to Rights for All: The Making of a Reform Community in the Nineteenth Century Book

Too detailed to stick it out

Benjamin Quarles set out to put in writing everything he knew about the African-Americans who participated in the abolitionist movements in the USA before the Civil War. He distinguished two stages, one, a more compromising, gradualist bunch, who petered out before 1830; the other a much more fiery collection of groups that would brook no compromise. The book tells, in far more detail than the average reader would like to know, about the comings and goings of the various black abolitionists, their thoughts, and struggle. It will not surprise us, today, that there were many African-Americans who wished to see their brethren free. It would be weird if there weren't ! But in the 1960s, when Quarles wrote, such knowledge and such a surety was not a given thing. People still used the word "Negro" and condescension still roamed the streets of America like a rotten fog. White men were seen as the chief instigators of the anti-slavery struggle. Well, it is certainly true that they got the lion's share of credit ! Quarles decided to set the record straight and he has certainly done that. If you need to do research on the details of black abolitionist history, you have come to the right place. This will be a five star book for you. He proves his point. For the rest of us, perhaps there are too many details which we cannot remember, and perhaps the huge number of names and events will overwhelm us. That's why I've given it only two stars, not because I want to dump on this book.