The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Emancipation

The late professor Davis' final book on slavery. Expounding on the Haitian revolution and how it affected slaveholders and abolition movements in the US, moving through the early 1800s on Britain's anti-slavery movement and emancipation of 800,000 slaves in the West Indies, culminating in the emancipation of slaves in the US following the Civil War. In the book Davis also goes into the animalization and dehumanization of slaves, the attempts in the US at colonizing the former slaves back to Africa and the fight over immediate abolition versus gradual emancipation."Inhuman Bondage", written in 2006, was a better book by Davis in my opinion, but this book closes his "Problem of Slavery..." trilogy rather well.

The Preface, Introduction and First Chapter of The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Emancipation, the final trilogy of Professor Davis' life-long work, should be read be every freshman entering college. Students reading the introduction, preface, and, at least the first chapter of the book should try to frame the "problem of slavery' within the question that while all societies have culture, not all cultures are civilized. If students, think, that Professor Davis' observations and language of the nineteenth century are no longer relevant, then both the teacher and students should move into the 21st century by viewing the documentary :Watchers of the Sky", Both the Davis book and the documentary clearly show that the concept of dehumanization people by "animalization" continues to this day.Allen WeintraubWhite Plains, NY

Outstanding scholarship. Not for light reading. The footnotes are extensive and essential to a complete understanding of the text. The information is far and beyond anything I have ever read in any history class or other text. It is a sobering analysis of the issues related to slavery and current attitudes concerning race relations.

David Brion Davis is a very courageous and objective writer, a rarity to find today. His works would make most Americans uncomfortable with their past.

This is a very revealing book. It tells the story that many people especially Caucasians don't know of the slavery period. This should be considered for educational teaching in our public schools. A well researched and written work. Thank you sir..

Satisfactory in all respects.

Instead of concentrating on the United States, the author shows how US slavery interacted with the wider world, particularly the Caribbean and Europe.

I would definitely order from Spectrum Books again.

Magnificent. What a scholar!