WRITINGS ON SLAVERY AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR by Harriet Martineau, Deborah Logan (Editor) ( 9780875802923 )

Item Details

Title:

WRITINGS ON SLAVERY AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

By:

Harriet Martineau, Deborah Logan (Editor)

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£48.00

Our price:

£43.20

Discount:

10% off

You save:

£4.80

ISBN 10:

0875802923

ISBN 13:

9780875802923

Availability:

Usually dispatched within 1-3 weeks.

Delivery rates

Stock:

Currently 0 available

Publisher:

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

30 April, 2002

Edition:

Annotated edition

Pages:

332

Description:

This publication is a compilation of the writings of British journalist Harriet Martineau and her influence as one of the leading social reformers of her day. It expresses her views on American society, politics, and her support for the abolition of slavery, before and during the Civil War.

Synopsis:

A leading social reformer and pioneering abolitionist, British journalist Harriet Martineau fueled the debate over the abolition of slavery that raged on both sides of the Atlantic before the American Civil War. Her impassioned writings about abolition with more than fifty essays and articles collected in this premier annotated edition provide piercing insights into American society, politics, and the issue of slavery. Determined to give a fair, objective hearing to both sides of the American slavery debate, Martineau crossed the ocean in 1834 and discovered a nation in turmoil. As a prominent writer, she was vigorously courted by both opponents and supporters of slavery who sought her endorsement for their political cause. From northern mansions to southern plantations, from Congress and President Jackson's White House to hospitals, factories, and slave quarters, people opened their doors to Martineau, providing her an unusually comprehensive view of American life. Shocked by the intensity of the controversy over slavery, and inspired by the bravery and defiance of abolitionists who campaigned in the face of social pressure and physical danger, Martineau publicly declared her support of abolition in 1835. Joining the ranks of the abolitionists made Martineau a prime target for persecution, and the remainder of her stay in America was fraught with death threats. She returned to England and promoted her cause by writing for the British periodical press, a career that would span the next thirty-five years. Martineau's friend and fellow abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison praised her as a "social heretic" whose compulsion to uphold the moral ground of human dignity and freedom outweighed any concern with popular opinions about her character or reputation. Twenty years after her dramatic American tour, Martineau wrote with pride that her name was "still reviled" in the South. One of the first women to earn a living by her pen, Martineau never faltered in the lifelong crusade that placed her in the forefront of political and social reform efforts. "Writings on Slavery and the American Civil War" conveys one woman's persistent call for absolute, immediate, and universal emancipation."

Publication:

Imprint:

Northern Illinois University Press

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

A BRITISH FRIENDSHIP (REPRINTED FROM ONCE A WEEK, NO. 199, OF APRIL 18TH, 1863) AND MEMOIR OF THE EARL OF ELGIN AND KINCARDINE, (REPRINTED FROM DAILY NEWS, DEC. 12TH, 1863)

A BRITISH FRIENDSHIP (REPRINTED FROM ONCE A WEEK, NO. 199, OF APRIL 18TH, 1863) AND MEMOIR OF THE EARL OF ELGIN AND KINCARDINE, (REPRINTED FROM DAILY NEWS, DEC. 12TH, 1863) (HB)

A BRITISH FRIENDSHIP AND MEMOIR OF THE EARL OF ELGIN AND KINCARDINE (CLASSIC REPRINT)

A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE ENGLISH LAKES