The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832
Alan Taylor
(Author)
Description
Frederick Douglass recalled that slaves living along Chesapeake Bay longingly viewed sailing ships as "freedom's swift-winged angels." In 1813 those angels appeared in the bay as British warships coming to punish the Americans for declaring war on the empire. Over many nights, hundreds of slaves paddled out to the warships seeking protection for their families from the ravages of slavery. The runaways pressured the British admirals into becoming liberators. As guides, pilots, sailors, and marines, the former slaves used their intimate knowledge of the countryside to transform the war. They enabled the British to escalate their onshore attacks and to capture and burn Washington, D.C. Tidewater masters had long dreaded their slaves as "an internal enemy." By mobilizing that enemy, the war ignited the deepest fears of Chesapeake slaveholders. It also alienated Virginians from a national government that had neglected their defense. Instead they turned south, their interests aligning more and more with their section. In 1820 Thomas Jefferson observed of sectionalism: "Like a firebell in the night [it] awakened and filled me with terror. I considered it at once the knell of the union." The notes of alarm in Jefferson's comment speak of the fear aroused by the recent crisis over slavery in his home state. His vision of a cataclysm to come proved prescient. Jefferson's startling observation registered a turn in the nation's course, a pivot from the national purpose of the founding toward the threat of disunion. Drawn from new sources, Alan Taylor's riveting narrative re-creates the events that inspired black Virginians, haunted slaveholders, and set the nation on a new and dangerous course.
Product Details
Price
$35.00
$32.55
Publisher
W. W. Norton & Company
Publish Date
September 09, 2013
Pages
605
Dimensions
6.5 X 1.9 X 9.4 inches | 2.35 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780393073713
BISAC Categories:
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Become an affiliateAbout the Author
Charles FasanaroCharles Fasanaro withdrew from his graduate studies in chemistry at North Carolina State University in 1967 to work for Behavior Systems, Inc., training dogs to detect landmines and trip wires in Vietnam. In 1969, he went to Vietnam as a civilian volunteer to work on a secret project designed to identify innocent villagers from the Viet Cong as well as to assist the mine-dog platoon members. His work saved many lives.When he returned from Vietnam, he earned his M.A.R. with distinction from the Iliff School of Theology and his Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from the joint doctoral program at Iliff/University of Denver. His 50+ years of teaching included faculty positions at the University of Colorado at Boulder and St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM. He earned the RL Stearns Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement at CU-Boulder (the university's highest honor), Master Scholar from the University of Denver, and Alumni of the Year at Iliff. Ever since he returned from Vietnam in 1969, he has been counseling combat veterans, helping them to conquer PTS, and transition to productive citizens and family members.Alan TaylorIn addition to being a freelance writer for many decades contributing numerous articles for regional and national publications on a variety of subjects, Alan Taylor taught composition at the University of Colorado, Boulder, from 1986-1993, earned his M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM, then taught English at Santa Fe Preparatory School in Santa Fe, NM, for 19 years, where he was honored with the Griffin Chair for Inspirational Teaching and the Shelton/Whitehill Grant for Teaching Excellence.
Reviews
Alan Taylor has added a remarkable chapter to American history, showing how the actions of black Virginians in the War of 1812 remade the nation's politics in ways that profoundly influenced the racialized lead-up to the Civil War. Taylor's meticulous research and crystal-clear prose make this essential reading for anyone seeking new insights into a troubled American past.--Elizabeth A. Fenn, author of Pox Americana
Impressively researched and beautifully crafted... Mr. Taylor has established himself as one of our leading historians of the Early Republic.--Mark M. Smith
A comprehensive, scholarly work, made accessible by Taylor's skill as a storyteller.--Kel Munger
Remarkable... it's hard not to be dazzled by the ease with which Taylor moves from the lives of individual slaves, to the history of a large planter family, to the fault lines of Virginia politics, to the national debate over slavery in the western territories, out into the Atlantic world to the history of the British Empire.--James Oakes
Impressively researched and beautifully crafted... Mr. Taylor has established himself as one of our leading historians of the Early Republic.--Mark M. Smith
A comprehensive, scholarly work, made accessible by Taylor's skill as a storyteller.--Kel Munger
Remarkable... it's hard not to be dazzled by the ease with which Taylor moves from the lives of individual slaves, to the history of a large planter family, to the fault lines of Virginia politics, to the national debate over slavery in the western territories, out into the Atlantic world to the history of the British Empire.--James Oakes