Fugitive Slaves and the Unfinished American Revolution

Download or read book Fugitive Slaves and the Unfinished American Revolution written by Gordon S. Barker and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2013-05-30 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book posits that the American Revolution--waged to form a "more perfect union"--still raged long after the guns went silent. Eight major fugitive slave stories of the antebellum era are described and interpreted to demonstrate how fugitive slaves and their abolitionist allies embraced Patrick Henry's motto "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" and the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. African Americans and white abolitionists seized upon these dramatic events to exhort citizens to complete the Revolution by extending liberty to all Americans. Casting fugitive slaves and their slave revolt leaders as heroic American Revolutionaries seeking freedom for themselves and their enslaved brethren, this book provides a broader interpretation of the American Revolution.