Reviews for Slave Law in the American South

The average rating for Slave Law in the American South based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-04-24 00:00:00 Ashlyn Zeller In my reading about the Abolitionist movement in general and the role which the Quakers played in it in particular over the last few years I kept encountering the name Anthony Benezet as one of its most important American founders. When I came across Let This Voice in at least one of the bibliographies, I decided to read it. For a number of reasons Maurice Jackson deserves kudos for having written a very fine scholarly book.  First, he researched dozens and dozens of primary and secondary sources. Second, these were integrated into a comprehensive and highly nuanced narrative of Benezet's intellectual development and his efforts to abolish the slave trade and slavery.  This included chapters on Benezet's influence on the British and French anti slavery movements as well as on Afro British and Afro Americans who contributed to Abolitionist efforts during and after his lifetime. Third, there are 95 pages of footnotes at the back of the book, some of which were carefully annotated. Fourth, there is also a 22 page Chronology of Atlantic Abolitionism at the end of the text.  This is something I have never seen elsewhere. Finally, there is one map and 6 pages of reproductions of paintings of a few of the people noted in the book. These along with a liberal use of quotations from various books, pamphlets, and correspondence made much of the book quite engaging.   Overall, this was an incredibly informative read about Benezet's philosophical and humanitarian beliefs on which his life as an important Abolitionist was based.  In fact, there were times that it became challenging to stay focused on, let alone try to assimilate all of what Jackson communicated.  Additionally, the author's prose contained too many compound, complex sentences for my admittedly idiosyncratic tastes. These two factors made Let This Voice slow going at times. Thus, it took me about 9 days to read a book whose narrative text is only about 330 pages long As these are modest flaws in what is otherwise an excellent book I would give Let This Voice a 4.5 star rating.   Since Jackson included a chapter on the history of the Abolitionist movement within the Quakers in the years leading up to Benezet's efforts in the mid to late 18th century, this book can be read on its own.  For those who want more background on the Quakers in regards to their beliefs, etc I would suggest Quakers and Slavery in America by Thomas E Drake.  For those who want to read a more general introduction to the Abolitionist movement I would recommend Merton Lynn Dillon's Abolitionists: The Growth of a Dissenting Minority.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-05-09 00:00:00 Bobby Dee Incredible book about the first American abolitionist, who singlehandely established a trans-Atlantic network of thoughts and ideas that influenced English and French sentiments towards slavery. Starting his career by teaching emancipated black Americans, Benezet differed from most other abolitionists in that he felt not only was slavery wrong, but that people of all races were equal in intellect, productivity, life, liberty and happiness. His ideas would eventually soften the hearts of other abolitionists such as Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush who, while rationally believing that slavery was wrong, intuitively believed that blacks were lesser people than whites. Through Benezets writings on African history and the experiences of slaves, he was able to change the hearts of many men to realize the equality that all people shared regardless of race. Because of Benezets writings, they were shared across Europe amongst political and literary circles. His writings directly influenced the abolition movements in England and France, where King Louis XVI himself personally read Benezets writings and would then proclaim an end to Frances participation in the slave trade. The biography itself doesnt follow a specific narrative from Benezets early life to his death, as few documents exist to tell such a story. Instead, the chapters are broken up into the ways Benezet influenced various aspects of American and international sentiments towards the ending of the slave trade and the rapprochement for blacks to be integrated into society. As one man opined seeing Benezets funeral procession walk down liberty street in Philadelphia, followed by the largest gathering of freed blacks ever to take place until that time, "I'd rather take the place of Benezet in that casket than to take the place of Washington in New York." Such was the strong feelings many felt for a man whose work would influence future leaders, especially Abraham Lincoln.