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The hanging of Thomas Jeremiah : a free black man's encounter with liberty / J. William Harris.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Harris, J. William, 1946-
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Jeremiah, Thomas, -1775--Trials, litigation, etc.
- Jeremiah, Thomas.
- Laurens, Henry, 1724-1792.
- Laurens, Henry.
- Campbell, William, 1745-1781.
- Campbell, William.
- Free African Americans--South Carolina--Charleston--Social conditions.
- Free African Americans.
- Free African Americans--Legal status, laws, etc--South Carolina--Charleston.
- Liberty--Political aspects--United States--History--18th century.
- Liberty.
- Liberty--Social aspects--United States--History--18th century.
- Slavery--United States--History--18th century.
- Slavery.
- Charleston (S.C.)--Race relations--18th century.
- Charleston (S.C.).
- Charleston (S.C.)--Social conditions--18th century.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (256 p.)
- Edition:
- 1st ed.
- Place of Publication:
- New Haven : Yale University Press, c2009.
- Language Note:
- English
- Summary:
- The tragic untold story of how a nation struggling for its freedom denied it to one of its own.In 1775, Thomas Jeremiah was one of fewer than five hundred "Free Negros" in South Carolina and, with an estimated worth of £1,000 (about 00,000 in today's dollars), possibly the richest person of African descent in British North America. A slaveowner himself, Jeremiah was falsely accused by whites-who resented his success as a Charleston harbor pilot-of sowing insurrection among slaves at the behest of the British.Chief among the accusers was Henry Laurens, Charleston's leading patriot, a slaveowner and former slave trader, who would later become the president of the Continental Congress. On the other side was Lord William Campbell, royal governor of the colony, who passionately believed that the accusation was unjust and tried to save Jeremiah's life but failed. Though a free man, Jeremiah was tried in a slave court and sentenced to death. In August 1775, he was hanged and his body burned.J. William Harris tells Jeremiah's story in full for the first time, illuminating the contradiction between a nation that would be born in a struggle for freedom and yet deny it-often violently-to others.
- Contents:
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Prologue
- Chapter One. ''Slavery may truly be said to be the peculiar curse of this land''
- Chapter Two. ''Those natural and inherent rights that we all feel, and know, as men''
- Chapter Three. ''God will deliver his own People from Slavery''
- Chapter Four. ''A plan, for instigating the slaves to insurrection''
- Chapter Five. ''The Young King was about to alter the World, & set the Negroes Free''
- Chapter Six. ''Dark, Hellish plots''
- Chapter Seven. ''Justice is Satisfied!''
- Epilogue
- Afterword
- Abbreviations Used in the Notes
- Notes
- A Note on Sources
- Acknowledgments
- Index
- Notes:
- Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 1-282-35295-4
- 9786612352959
- 0-300-15569-7
- OCLC:
- 593254015
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