Abstract
The core issue which Gary Nash tries to tackle in the book, “Race and Revolution” is the dilemma in which the blacks of America were placed even after the country achieved independence. To South America continuance of the system of slavery was an economic necessity. To North America, where the slave population was marginal, the superiority complex of the white race was an issue. They considered black race as an inferior one. But how long the suppression of the blacks can continue? The combustible educated black generation was not willing to accept slavery anymore. The right-thinking amongst the white were also supportive to the cause of equality for blacks in all spheres of economic/social life. Some black leaders adopted violent methods to do away with the ruling white class. In this book Nash, identifies three stages of emancipation of the blacks and how they gradually got assimilated in the American society and finally emerged as the equal partners to work for nation-building and for progress of the country.
Introduction of the author
Gary B. Nash, B.A. Ph. D (Princeton University) has authored many books on race and class in the early America. He teaches history at the University of California. He is the Associate Director of the National Center for History in the Schools. Some of his books are 
1) Forging Freedom: The Black Urban Experience in Philadelphia, 1720-1820 (2) Race, Class and Politics: Essays on Colonial and Revolutionary Society (3) Class and Society in Early America (4) Quakers and Politics: Pennsylvania, 1681-1726. In his book “Race and Revolution,” Nash busts the myth that the colonial society and the slaves are ignorant about the horrors of slavery.
Summary of contents of the Book
Nash is good at providing revisionist interpretation of race and slavery and articulates news avenues of investigation about these issues. The book pinpoints, how the post-revolution generation failed to eliminate slavery. It explains the failure of the revolution to respond to the aspirations of the black community. Alternatively, they build their own African-American institutions, though under difficult circumstances, to protect individual identity. Nash argues with evidence by providing nineteen rare, verifiable documents in the form of letters, sermons, pamphlets and speeches. The slaves, according to Nash, understand the implications of American Revolution and how it will impact them in the times to come. How they can sideline the important issue that beleaguers American society both at the social and political levels. Most of the American historians focus on antebellum, civil war and reconstruction period. Nash specifically details on the decade up to and the decades following the revolutionary war. In the first essay, Nash discusses about the disinterestedness of the Northerners, for they are not attached to the institution of slavery. Their intent was to bring the colonies away from the British reign and they fought for it. In the second essay Nash’s main focus is on the failure of the abolitionist movement. Nash looks out for reasons for the abrupt decline in anti-slavery attitude. South had vested interests about the slave labor. Labor-oriented cultivation of crops was their primary source of revenue.
What would be the impact of emancipation to the northern colonies? Slave-buying was a legal procedure and the slaves were personal property of the owners. Government could not take over the personal property without compensation. The lack-luster approach of the North to work out a plan to free the slaves did not serve their cause. The yardstick of the Northerners to apply the tenets of freedom was hypocritical compared to winning freedom from Great Britain and granting the same to their own black people. In the third essay zeros in about the specific role of the African-Americans as for abolitionist movement of the time. Many freed men adopted the two-pronged strategy to further the cause of the blacks. They established black churches and other communities and at the national level fought for abolition and emancipation of the blacks in all walks of life. In the end a good chunk of the book is devoted to historical writings, records, articles and other documents in support of the issues mentioned in the book. The contents of the book provide an analytical narrative and insight into the history of the freedom struggle of the black people in this country that began before there was a country.
Body of the Review
The contents of this book provide an insightful interpretation of American Revolution and Nash writes without fear or favor about the circumstances that led to the abolishment of slavery in United States. The focus of the book, which contains essays originated from a series of lectures, is how American Revolution fails to accomplish the expected justice to the oppressed race, in the initial stages. Who is to be blamed for this neglect? Nash poses this question and answers it-the northern leaders are to be blamed than the southern ones. The white Americans as a whole, in the post-revolution era do not recognize African Americans as an equal race. To blame the situation due to inflexibility of the Southerners is partial truth. The whole truth is the growing sense of superiority of the Northern leaders. How the two divergent races try to meet the pressure-Nash tackles this moot question in this book. Vincent Harding (1993, p.xii)) seems to agree with Nash and he presents the picture of the opposing forces to America’s economic system based on slave labor. Every system of oppression will, sooner or later will pave way to the system of resistance against oppression. He (1993, p.xii) writes, “Above all, where there is no vision we lose the sense of our great power to transcend history and create a new future for ourselves with others, and we perish utterly in hopelessness, mutual terror, and despair. Therefore, the quest is not a luxury; life itself demands it of us.”
Independence contributed to the growing supremacist tendencies of the whites. The three chapters of the book relate to three different stages of abolitionism. Tracing the post-Revolution movement of the emancipation Nash (1990, p.30) writes, “But more important, slavery was a problem that a society in the process of self-definition after the revolution could not avoid in any region, and most of those who spoke about national destiny recognized this…….As a national problem, slavery required a national solution, in which the North might have been expected to take the lead.”
American Revolution brought a new dimension to the slave labor system in that country. Securing independence through struggle against the English Crown was a top priority issue, and the slave problem was sidelined for the time being. Even after independence the new Nation suffered with crisis of identity. Max Farrand (2010,p.1) writes, ” In these days of prosperity and national greatness it is hard to realize that the achievement of independence did not place the United States on a footing of equality with other countries and that, in fact, the new state was more or less an unwelcome member of the world family.” Many historians ignored the anti-slavery fervor during the time of American Revolution. For them, creation and stability of the Republic were the issues of priority. Farrand(2010,p.53) further states that as per the thinking of many important leaders, some from the North and many from the South, they accepted “…slavery as an accepted institution, as a part of the established order.” The thorny issue of abolition of slavery was swept under the carpet, as the affairs of the political union were too complicated after the war. The political integrity was of utmost importance and therefore the historians were willing to ignore/condone the laxity of the leaders for having ignored the slaveissue. Some States were proponents of slavery, citing economic reasons. Georgia and Carolina expressed their strong inclination not to join the Union if forced to abolish slavery at that time. The specter of war of races was the choice which no one liked and for slaves, it would have been more disadvantageous.
Anti-slavery sentiments were getting stronger as time rolled by. Nash(1990,p.19) writes, in 1788 Maryland’s Attorney General Luther Martin, declared that slavery was “inconsistent with the genius of republicanism and has a tendency to destroy those principles on which it is supported, as it lessens the sense of the equal rights of mankind and habituates us to tyranny and oppression.” People, even in the South, were slowly and steadily turned averse to the practice of slavery, for example, Nash indicates(1990,p.18) “In Virginia, where a census in 1782 revealed 1800 free blacks, the number swelled to nearly 13,000 in 1800 and 20,000 a decade later.”
Every trade has elements of hypocrisy and slave trade was no exception. Many leaders, including the religious ones, paid lip-service to the cause of abolition of slavery. Nash (1990, p.13) cites two such instances. “In 1773, while trying to build his medical practice in Quaker capital, Rush had penned one of the strongest attacks on slavery read in the colonies to that date…..yet about three years later Rush purchased a slave, William Grubber….Yet even after joining the Pennsylvania Abolition Society in 1784, just after it was revived, the philanthropic doctor would not release Grubber.”(p.31, 32) In another case in Philadelphia in the 1780s, “The Reverend Francis Allison, Minister of the First Presbyterian Church and a denominational leaderin the mid-Atlantic colonies…..owned four slaves, but he freed none of them until his death in 1779…”
The northern states virtually banned the importation of slaves, the southern states followed suit and began the process of freeing the slaves in bondage within their boundaries. In 1830 things took a better shape for the slaves with the proposal to tax slave owners for compensating the emancipated slaves. The need to work in tandem for emancipation of the slaves began to be appreciated both by the North and the South. Notwithstanding this, Northerners had their special fears. About this aspect Nash (1990, p.43) writes, “A general emancipation, northerners had reason to believe, would bring free blacks churning northward in search of economic opportunity and some measure of social justice.”
During the 1770s, within the colonies of England, a new type of awareness dawned as for the compatibility of slavery as an institution. The concept of slavery did not fit into the articles of the American Constitution that eulogized the values of individual dignity, freedom of the citizen and equality before law irrespective of the color of the skin and democratic values. Practice of slavery tantamount to violation of human rights. The idea of abolition of slavery caught the imagination of the people and followed with great enthusiasm by the colonial powers. Nash hails this as the “revolutionary generation.” A new idea was vigorously pursued by the leaders and it was for a great cause of giving equal rights and social status for the blacks as compared to the whites. The first flush of enthusiasm was unstoppable, and the leaders understood and pursued the need to attack slavery from the roots. The urgent need to put an immediate stop to the atrocities perpetuated under the system of slavery was appreciated by all.
Nash explains how in 1790 and onwards the slavery issue was taken up in all seriousness in many States and through many platforms. In the second session of the first Congress, the North was given directions to act on the slavery issue. The Society of Friends drew the attention or right thinking people, inhuman practices prevalent in the system of slavery. The Quakers vehemently pleaded against the trafficking of people for slavery. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society strongly pleaded and used its powers to put an end to slavery totally. In 1796 St. George Tucker, prominent lawyer argued against slavery, armed with revealing statistics. He brought the reality before the public that the sale of slaves had increased after the 1780s. The enslaved slave population had increased by 50%.He argued on the basis of Montesquieu Spirit of Laws “Slavery not only violates Laws of Nature, laws of civil Society, it wounds the best Forms of Government; in a Democracy, where all Men are equal; Slavery is Contrary to the Spirit of the Constitution” (Nash, 1990, p.44).His voice took a philosophical turn when he urged the people to forget and pardon the wrong doings of the previous generations and reminded them that they were part of a different society and the stigma of slavery must be erased once for all. The principles enshrined in the Constitution should be upheld. To practice slavery was a disgrace and to tolerate such a practice was a national disgrace, he advocated.
Apart from the peaceful, legal and constitutional methods to improve the lot of the black labor, the hardcore amongst the blacks planned to achieve their goal through violence. In 1800 Philadelphia, blacks petitioned to Congress to abolish slavery and to repeal the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. One of the important clauses that worked against the interest of the slaves was that it provided for the return of escaped slaves who reached another state. This was against the provisions of Preamble of the Constitution that granted inalienable rights to all citizens. Nash writes,(1990,p.79) “Gabriel Prosser, a free black in Richmond, Virginia, organized an attempt to overthrow slavery in the capital of the southern state.” He was a blacksmith by profession. He organized about 1000 slaves and planned secretly to attack the federalists and some important merchants, also the leading members of the society at that time. The attack planned for August 30, 1800 did not materialize on account of rain. The white owners got information about the impending attack. This incident nevertheless indicates the rebellious attitude of the slaves against their unlawful retention by the white land owners.
In the Rebellion slaves in 1851 in Southampton County, Virginia over 50 whites were killed and it was a significant act by the blacks that had far-reaching consequences on their psyche and gave them the confidence that they can fight back. The result was, legislation was passed barring education to the slaves. Right of assembly by blacks was restricted and the presence of white minister at all religious services was made compulsory. Blacks were killed in large numbers fighting for their rights. Though the rebellion lasted for a few days, Turner survived for many months. The rebellion sent the signals of alarm amongst the slave owners compelling them to adopt stricter measures to control the awakening amongst the slaves. Thus, many factors contributed to the gradual emancipation of the slaves and abolition of slavery altogether. They began to enjoy rights in all spheres and they achieved at par status as compared to the whites.Fugitive slaves’ laws were annulled by Congress in 1862. Slaves were recruited in the US Army. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863. Over three million slaves secured their freedom. Thus the long history of slavery of 246 years since the first landing of captive Africans in Jamestown finally ended and they secured the legal status as American citizens.
Conclusion:
Gary Nash is a gifted researcher and scholar. This book makes a valid contribution to my understanding of the American history; this is also an important historical document for those who desire to research on the subject of slavery in its correct perspective. Informative for the blacks to know their true history about the hurdles their ancestors had to tackle, and good for the white people to remove the blinders in their thinking process. With the achievement of independence, North and the South adopted a complacent approach towards black people. This was due to the attitude of superiority complex by the whites in the North and economic reasons by the plantation owners in the South. Some leaders and philanthropists adopted a bifacial strategy-they preached against slavery, but privately kept slaves. Two important issues were about giving compensations to the slave owners for the release of their slaves and how the freed slaves would survive of their own. Their rehabilitation process had economic and social bearings. The independent nation-the newly formed union– had to cope up with the threat of pull-out by states like South Carolina and Georgia if slaves were given freedom. At the same time, Pennsylvania was the leading state to abolish slavery in the year 1780. To prove his
hypothesis, Nash has organized his work in three sections that represent the three stages of abolitionism. The supporting documents are also listed after each chapter and this is a welcome arrangement. Abolition of slavery, initially viewed as an economic and social issue, got solid support from the religious quarters. The Preachers said all men were equal and divine, whether black or white. The black movement got shot in the arm with the establishment of black churches and social clubs by prominent leaders to work for the emancipation of the blacks in the white dominated areas. For the blacks the reading of this book is a good experience of visiting their own black ancestors in America and Africa.
References
Farrand, Max. (2010). The Fathers of the Constitution: A Chronicle of the Establishment of the
Union (Volume 13 in The Chronicles of America Series) (Timeless Classic Books):
CreateSpace.
Harding, Vincent. (1993).There Is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America:
Mariner Books.
Nash, Gary B. (1990). Race and Revolution: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.