Black Abolitionists (Da Capo Paperback) [Paperback]

Benjamin Quarles (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0306804255 | ISBN-13: 978-0306804250 | Publication Date: March 22, 1991

While much is known about the white men and women who were involved in the anti-slavery movement, the black abolitionists have been largely ignored. This book, written by one of America’s leading black historians, sets the record straight. As Benjamin Quarles shows, blacks were anything but passive in the abolitionist movement. Many of the pioneers of abolition were black; dozens of black preachers and writers actively promoted the cause; black organizations were founded to support their brothers; black ambassadors for freedom crossed the Atlantic; blacks were instrumental in the operation of the Underground Railroad. Quarles puts it eloquently: ”To the extent that America had a revolutionary tradition [the black American] was its protagonist no less than its symbol.”

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Benjamin Quarles (1904–1996) was a noted author, editor, and historian and the first African American to be published in what later became the Journal of American History. Africana hails him as a key figure in the emergence of African-American history as an academic discipline.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 22, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306804255
• ISBN-13: 978-0306804250
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "new school" Negroes' role in the Aboltionists crusade., February 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Abolitionists (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

I recently reviewed this exceptional book for a college history class: Benjamin Quarles did an exceptional job in supporting his well-balanced and non-biased arugment that even though widely neglected in history, the Negro played a significant role in the abolitionists crusade. Quarles's use of Primary sources made this non-biased argument possible. A quick summary of the book is as follows: The "new school" movement began in the late 1820s to the early 30s, and it gave free Negroes the opportunity to publicly speak their views on slavery and the equality of blacks. Even though not all blacks were abolitionists, their general attitude was, as John Scoble stated in 1853, "'...[to be] true to their brethren in bonds...and to remain by them whatever the cost'" (p.7). Whether he be free-born or slave-born, man or woman, an active aboltionist or a supporter of abolition, the Negro was true to his brother in slavery. Evidence of this was shown in Negro reformist sheets, and narratives written by former slaves. The kinship Negroes felt toward the slave was also shown in the formation of anti-slavery societies, in the trips to England in hopes of gaining anti-slavery support, and Negro participation in The Underground Railroad. This book is an excellent account of the Negro participation in the abolitionist movement, long neglected in history. The fact that this book has a well-balanced, greatly supported, easy to read, and truthful arument, makes it exceptional. Quarles said it best when he noted, "To the extent that America had a revolutionary tradition, [the Negro] was its protagonist no less than its symbol" (p.249). One will never feel the same about the Negroes' union in their struggle for freedom and equality, after he reads, Black Aboltionists, by Benjamin Quarles.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pioneering history, April 30, 2007

By 

Robert Pierce Forbes (Connecticut USA) - See all my reviews

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Quarles virtually founded the history of black abolitionism, and he set the bar very high. Before Black Abolitionists, the story of antislavery was viewed almost completely as a matter of selfless, dedicated--or fanatical--whites, with blacks in the roles of desperate fugitives or bit players. Quarles up-ended the narrative and demonstrated that blacks were the key actors, with whites--with very few exceptions--taking at best supporting roles. This is an essential starting point for anyone interested in the antislavery movement or 19th-century U.S. society and reform.