The Fugitive Blacksmith and Other Essential Writings by James W.C. Pennington

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Jan Stievermann (Professor of the History of Christianity in the U.S., Professor of the History of Christianity in the U.S., Heidelberg University) Caitlin B. Smith (Assistant Professor of Early American Literature, Assistant Professor of Early American Literature, St. Bonaventure University)

The Fugitive Blacksmith and Other Essential Writings by James W.C. Pennington

Name: The Fugitive Blacksmith and Other Essential Writings by James W.C. Pennington
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ISBN: 9780197690765

Jan Stievermann (Professor of the History of Christianity in the U.S., Professor of the History of Christianity in the U.S., Heidelberg University), Caitlin B. Smith (Assistant Professor of Early American Literature, Assistant Professor of Early American Literature, St. Bonaventure University), Eddie S. Glaude (James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Princeton University)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
17 February 2026

Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900; History: specific events & topics; Social & political philosophy; Religion & politics

Series: Oxford New Histories of Philosophy

By the early 1850s, the former slave James W.C. Pennington had become an internationally prominent African American minister, abolitionist and reformer. With its scathing analysis of the chattel system, gripping account of his escape, and inspirational story of self-education and conversion to an activist faith, Pennington's autobiography, The Fugitive Blacksmith (1849), found readers on both sides of the Atlantic. Pennington's second major work, A Text Book of the Origin and History of the Colored People (1841), pioneered a new kind of Black history. However, during the Civil War era, Pennington's star declined, and after Reconstruction, he was largely forgotten. This volume offers the first-ever modern edition of The Fugitive Blacksmith and A Text Book, alongside other selections of Pennington's essential sermons, speeches, and journalistic contributions, and an introduction by the volume editors.

The volume provides readers the rich biographical and historical background, as well as the political and intellectual contexts, necessary to appreciate Pennington and his activism. Through these texts, which explore perennial philosophical questions about human nature, the meaning of freedom, and the possibility of a just and inclusive society, we see Pennington in his rightful place as an important part of the Black intellectual tradition in the 19th century.

Edited by: Jan Stievermann (Professor of the History of Christianity in the U.S. Professor of the History of Christianity in the U.S. Heidelberg University), Caitlin B. Smith (Assistant Professor of Early American Literature, Assistant Professor of Early American Literature, St. Bonaventure University), Eddie S. Glaude (James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Princeton University)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 157mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 603g
ISBN: 9780197690765
ISBN 10: 0197690769
Series: Oxford New Histories of Philosophy
Pages: 414
Publication Date: 17 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Table of Contents Acknowledgements A Chronology of James W.C. Pennington's Life Introduction Section 1: Pennington's Autobiography and Writings on His Life 1.1 The Fugitive Blacksmith 1.2 Frederick Douglass on Pennington 1.3 The Story of Pennington's Brother and Nephews 1.4 A Letter to Harriet Beecher Stowe 1.5 Petition for Pennington's Honorary Doctor of Divinity to Heidelberg's Faculty of Theology Section 2: African American History and Destiny; Black Education and Excellence 2.1 A Text Book of the Origin and History of the Colored People 2.2 The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade 2.3. The Destiny of Black People in the United States 2.4

Jan Stievermann is Professor of the History of Christianity in the U.S. at Heidelberg University. He has written books and essays on a range of topics in the fields of American religious history and American literature, including Prophecy, Piety, and the Problem of Historicity: Interpreting the Hebrew Scriptures in Cotton Mather's Biblia Americana (2016). Caitlin B. Smith is Assistant Professor of Early American Literature at St. Bonaventure University. She has published multiple journal articles on nineteenth-century American literature and religion, with a special focus on early freethinking societies and constructions of doubt. Eddie S. Glaude Jr. is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestseller Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own and We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For. Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University.