The Patriots' Dilemma: White Abolitionism and Black Banishment in the Founding of the United States of...

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Timothy Messer-Kruse

The Patriots' Dilemma

White Abolitionism and Black Banishment in the Founding of the United States of America

Timothy Messer-Kruse

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English

Pluto Press
20 April 2024

General studies; History of the Americas; History: specific events & topics; Slavery & abolition of slavery; Political structures: democracy

'A masterly analysis of slavery and republicanism from the left. A stunning achievement' - Gerald Horne

Timely and controversial, The Patriots' Dilemma confronts longstanding interpretations of U.S. history that emphasize a fundamental conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery interests. By 1776, influential American patriots acknowledged that slavery was incompatible with the ideals of the republic. But a republic for whom?

As Timothy Messer-Kruse argues, their real motivations have been misinterpreted for more than 200 years. The Framers were primarily concerned with the protection and betterment of the white community, not the liberation of enslaved black people. The conundrum was that slavery had to end because it created what they saw as a dangerous population, but it could not be abolished without endangering their (white) republic.

Their solutions included schemes to banish former slaves to the western frontier or overseas, to exclude them from the category of 'citizen', to make their emancipation gradual, and to tightly police African American communities.

By: Timothy Messer-Kruse
Imprint: Pluto Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 27mm
ISBN: 9780745349671
ISBN 10: 0745349676
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 20 April 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Timothy Messer-Kruse is professor of ethnic studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He is the author of numerous books, including The Yankee International: Marxism and the American Reform Tradition, 1848-1876, The Haymarket Conspiracy: Transatlantic Anarchist Networks and The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists: Terrorism and Justice in the Gilded Age, which was named 'Best Labor History Book of 2012' by the journal Labor History.

Reviews for The Patriots' Dilemma: White Abolitionism and Black Banishment in the Founding of the United States of America

"'A stunning achievement. Masterly. Finally, an analysis of slavery and republicanism from the left, not seeking to excuse inhumanity by referring to stale recipes about ""bourgeois democracy."" As the progressive movement in the U.S. begins increasingly to discuss impending fascism, finally we have an account that provides historical foundation for this chilling conception. Brilliant. Insightful.' -- Gerald Horne, author, 'The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the USA' 'In explaining the role of self-interest in the abolition work of the founding generation, Timothy Messer-Kruse broadens debates that generally focus on the motives and efforts of those who supported African recolonization to show that the rhetoric attributed to colonizationists permeates the work of early abolitionists in general. Messer-Kruse takes away the illusion of altruism and replaces it with an honest examination of the role of self-interest in the first generation of antislavery.' -- Beverly Tomek, author of 'Colonization and Its Discontents: Emancipation, Emigration, and Antislavery in Antebellum Pennsylvania'"