The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution, 1770-1823

Winner of the National Book Award, the Beveridge Award and the Bancroft Prize.

Part of a trilogy "The Problem of Slavery in World History", this is the second book in the series. It features a preface exploring the anti-slavery debate among American historians, between the 1970s and 1990s, started by the original publication of this book in the 1970s.The author explores the international impact and social significance of antislavery thought in a critical era of political and industrial revolution. He examines the implications and historical consequences of challenging the long-accepted institution of slavery. The study not only provides a comparative account of early antislavery movements, but also uses the controversies over slavery to analyse shifting attitudes towards labour, social order, political representation, and the authority of law and religion. The focus is on the Anglo-American experience, but Davis makes illuminating comparisons with the history of slavery in France and Latin America. The book also offers portraits of important historical figures, including Thomas Jefferson, Granville Sharp, Bryan Edward, and Moreau de Saint-Mery, and accounts of key groups, movements, and bodies of literature. Through the history of slavery, Davis explores many areas of the social and intellectual history of the revolutionary era, creating a new reading of the entire age.