Amesbury Public Library

Slave nation, how slavery united the colonies & sparked the American Revolution, Alfred W. Blumrosen and Ruth G. Blumrosen ; introduction by Eleanor Holmes Norton

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-273) and index

mapsillustrationsplates

index present

non fiction

Slave nation

bibliography

57007982

Alfred W. Blumrosen and Ruth G. Blumrosen ; introduction by Eleanor Holmes Norton

how slavery united the colonies & sparked the American Revolution

A controversial new interpretation of the causes of the American Revolution argues that the Somerset case of 1772, which freed a slave brought to England, convinced slaveholders in the southern American colonies that England intended to end slavery, resulting in the Virginia Resolution, which led to the first Continental Congress of 1774 and played a key role in the decision to fight for independence while perpetuating racial slavery as a problem that would plague the new nation

Somerset's journey sparks the American Revolution -- The tinderbox -- Virginia responds to the Somerset Decision -- The Virginia Resolution unites the Colonies and leads to the First Continental Congress in 1774 -- John Adams supports the South on slavery -- Colonies claim independence from Parliament -- The immortal ambiguity "all men are created equal" -- The Articles of Confederation reject Somerset and protect slavery -- The lure of the West : slavery protected in the Territories -- Deadlock over slavery in the Constitutional Convention -- A slave-free Northwest Territory -- Cementing the bargain : ratification by Virginia and the First Congress -- How then should we view the Founding Fathers?