Slavery and Silence : Latin America and the U.S. Slave Debate / Paul D. Naish.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Naish, Paul D., Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Slavery--Political aspects--United States--History--19th century.

Slavery.

Slavery--Latin America--History--19th century.

United States--Race relations--History--19th century.

United States.

Genre:

History

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (287 pages)

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In the thirty-five years before the Civil War, as it became increasingly difficult for those outside the world of politics to have frank and open discussions about slavery, Paul D. Naish argues that many Americans displaced their most provocative criticisms and darkest fears about the institution onto Latin America.

In the years before the Civil War, it became difficult for average Americans to have frank discussions about the institution of slavery. To do so was to explore or deny its its inhumanity. To celebrate it required explaining away the nation's proclaimed belief in equality and its public promise of rights for all, while to condemn it was to insult people who might be related by ties of blood, friendship, or business, and perhaps even to threaten the very economy and political stability of the nation. For this reason, Paul D. Naish argues, Americans displaced their most provocative criticisms and darkest fears about the institution onto Latin America. In novels, diaries, correspondence, and scientific writings, he contends, the heat and bluster of the political arena was muted, and discussions of slavery staged in these venues often turned their attention south of the Rio Grande. At once familiar and foreign, Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, and the independent republics of Spanish America provided rhetorical landscapes about which everyday citizens could speak, through both outright comparisons or implicit metaphors, what might otherwise be unsayable when talking about slavery at home. Americans of many persuasions found unity in their disparagement of Latin America, creating a superficial feeling of nationalism as the country careened toward war."--Adapted from the dust jacket. Provided by publisher

Contents:

Preface. Creatures of silence

Introduction. Surrounded by mirrors

Chapter 1. Never so drunk with new-born liberty

Chapter 2. "Our" aborigines

Chapter 3. The problem of slavery

Chapter 4. Conquest and reconquest

Chapter 5. An even more peculiar institution

Epilogue. 1861 and after.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 07. Jul 2020)

ISBN:

9780812294309

0812294300

OCLC:

1163879314