In the Shadow of Freedom: The Politics of Slavery in the National Capital

Paul Finkelman, Donald R. Kennon

Ohio University Press, Jun 13, 2011 - History - 272 pages

Few images of early America were more striking, and jarring, than that of slaves in the capital city of the world’s most important free republic. Black slaves served and sustained the legislators, bureaucrats, jurists, cabinet officials, military leaders, and even the presidents who lived and worked there. While slaves quietly kept the nation’s capital running smoothly, lawmakers debated the place of slavery in the nation, the status of slavery in the territories newly acquired from Mexico, and even the legality of the slave trade in itself.

This volume, with essays by some of the most distinguished historians in the nation, explores the twin issues of how slavery made life possible in the District of Columbia and how lawmakers in the district regulated slavery in the nation.

Contributors: David Brion Davis, Mary Beth Corrigan, A. Glenn Crothers, Jonathan Earle, Stanley Harrold, Mitch Kachun, Mary K. Ricks, James B. Stewart, Susan Zaeske, David Zarefsky

Contents

• Slavery in the Shadow of Liberty: 3
• Congress and Slaveryin Context: 17
• The Politics of Slavery in the District of Columbia: 139
• Contributors: 239
• Index: 241

About the author

Paul Finkelman is an expert on constitutional history, the law of slavery, and the American Civil War. He coedits the Ohio University Press series New Approaches to Midwestern Studies and is the president of Gratz College.

Donald R. Kennon is the former chief historian and vice president of the United States Capitol Historical Society. He is editor of the Ohio University Press series Perspectives on the History of Congress, 1789–1801.

Bibliographic information

• Title: In the Shadow of Freedom: The Politics of Slavery in the National Capital; Perspectives on the History of Congress, 1801–1877
• Editors: Paul Finkelman, Donald R. Kennon
• Publisher: Ohio University Press, 2011
• ISBN: 0821443496, 9780821443491
• Length: 272 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / General; Social Science / Slavery