The Destiny of the Colored People
The Destiny of the Colored People
African American History between Compromise and Jubilee, 1850–1863
This chapter discusses the advent of a uniquely American-centered historical discourse framed around self-elevation and destiny, and reflected through the lens of the American and Haitian Revolutions. Not only had issues of slavery and freedom reached boiling point by the 1850s but this moment represented great possibility for abolitionist forces even as restrictive legislation such as the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas–Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision became law. Black writers integrated themselves more fully into the language of nationhood, a project that began in the early republic, in which they affirmed their belief in the core civil and human rights to which all members of a nation were entitled. As the nation invoked the memory of the American Revolution, black people argued for their centrality in the founding drama.
Keywords: Haitian Revolutions, slavery, freedom, abolitionist forces, Compromise of 1850, Kansas–Nebraska Act, Dred Scott decision
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