"The precious birthright" : Black leaders and the fight to vote in antebellum Rhode Island / CJ Martin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Martin, C. J., 1986- author.

Series:

Black New England

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans--Suffrage--Rhode Island--History.

African Americans.

Suffrage--Rhode Island--History.

Suffrage.

African Americans--Rhode Island--Providence--History--19th century.

Providence (R.I.)--History--19th century.

Providence (R.I.).

Providence (R.I.)--Race relations--19th century.

Providence (R.I.)--Social conditions--19th century.

Rhode Island--Politics and government--1775-1865.

Rhode Island.

Physical Description:

x, 266 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Amherst ; Boston : University of Massachusetts Press, [2024]

Summary:

"In 1842, Black Rhode Islanders secured a stunning victory rarely seen in antebellum America: they won the right to vote. Amid heightened public discourse around shifting ideas of race, citizenship, and political rights, they methodically deconstructed the arguments against their enfranchisement and chose the perfect moments in which to act forcefully. At the head of this movement was a cohort of prominent business and community members that formed an early example of a Black leadership class in the US. CJ Martin argues that Black leaders employed a unique combination of agitation and accommodation to ensure the success of this movement. By focusing on Black leadership, Martin relates this history through the people who lived it, and by investigating their tactics, he deepens the story of how race played a crucial role in American citizenship. Exploring a fight that was as important to the pioneers of interracial democracy as it was for the civil rights activists of the twentieth century, The Precious Birthright provides new insight into the larger story of Black freedom"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chapter 1: "To promote one common good": Black leaders in revolutionary Rhode Island

Chapter 2: "Dignified abeyance": Evolving black leadership and disfranchisement

Chapter 3: "Forever and hereafter a body politic": New leadership and organization, 1819-1824

Chapter 4: "The clouds of evil": Survival and organization, 1820-1831

Chapter 5: "How long will the lord suffer us to remain as we now are?": Activists and citizenship in the 1830s

Chapter 6: "The mustard seed," Part 1: Black leaders, allies, and escalation of the suffrage movement

Chapter 7: "The mustard seed," Part 2: Citizenship.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Martin, C. J., 1986- "Precious birthright"

ISBN:

9781625348395

1625348398

9781625348388

162534838X

OCLC:

1461037991