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A Global History of Anti-slavery Politics in the Nineteenth CenturyDebating Slavery and Empire: The United States, Britain and the World’s Anti-slavery Convention of 1840

A Global History of Anti-slavery Politics in the Nineteenth Century: Debating Slavery and Empire:... [Since the time of John Winthrop, some Americans have regarded themselves as blessed by Providence to develop an inspirational “city on a hill”. The promotion of the United States as an “asylum for liberty” reflects this mentality and especially during the nineteenth century led to an expressed interest in leading humankind towards a new “land of Canaan” on the shores of the western Atlantic.1 This is not to suggest that Britain saw itself as the Old World antithesis of the United States. Britain too had been “singularly blessed by Providence”.2 Moreover, as the two countries put the Anglo-American Revolution behind them, neither was willing to shed their assumed roles as “the standard bearers of human liberation” even if these aspirations were restricted in obvious ways.3 In the United States , the constitution did not empower African-Americans, indigenous peoples, or women at the federal level, while more generally, early-national Americans had only vague notions about “national” identity.4 In Britain, Catholic Emancipation (1829) and the reforms of 1832 also had their limits.5 However, even within such limits, these initiatives confronted some of the underlying assumptions of the British polity. Moreover, as Linda Colley points out, they gave “more orthodox Britons” a platform “to rebut American pretensions to superior freedoms” and to assert that, especially after the collapse of the Napoleonic regime, Britain still saw itself as the bellwether of “progress”.6 This became clear during the debates on the abolition of slavery which were also used by the two countries to emphasise that their respective societies represented the better way.7] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Global History of Anti-slavery Politics in the Nineteenth CenturyDebating Slavery and Empire: The United States, Britain and the World’s Anti-slavery Convention of 1840

Editors: Mulligan, William; Bric, Maurice
Bric, Maurice
Springer Journals — Oct 24, 2015
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18 pages

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Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2013
ISBN
978-1-349-44116-7
Pages
59 –77
DOI
10.1057/9781137032607_4
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Since the time of John Winthrop, some Americans have regarded themselves as blessed by Providence to develop an inspirational “city on a hill”. The promotion of the United States as an “asylum for liberty” reflects this mentality and especially during the nineteenth century led to an expressed interest in leading humankind towards a new “land of Canaan” on the shores of the western Atlantic.1 This is not to suggest that Britain saw itself as the Old World antithesis of the United States. Britain too had been “singularly blessed by Providence”.2 Moreover, as the two countries put the Anglo-American Revolution behind them, neither was willing to shed their assumed roles as “the standard bearers of human liberation” even if these aspirations were restricted in obvious ways.3 In the United States , the constitution did not empower African-Americans, indigenous peoples, or women at the federal level, while more generally, early-national Americans had only vague notions about “national” identity.4 In Britain, Catholic Emancipation (1829) and the reforms of 1832 also had their limits.5 However, even within such limits, these initiatives confronted some of the underlying assumptions of the British polity. Moreover, as Linda Colley points out, they gave “more orthodox Britons” a platform “to rebut American pretensions to superior freedoms” and to assert that, especially after the collapse of the Napoleonic regime, Britain still saw itself as the bellwether of “progress”.6 This became clear during the debates on the abolition of slavery which were also used by the two countries to emphasise that their respective societies represented the better way.7]

Published: Oct 24, 2015

Keywords: Slave Trade; Slave Labour; Free Labour; British Empire; London Convention

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