Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-11-14
A VALUABLE LITERARY PR0DUU
TON.

VIZ have received "The Suppression
Of the African Slave Trade TO the
United States OF America, 1888 1870"
by WILLIAM f. OU BoIs. A. B., Phi. d
The author is a Negro born at CT.
Darlington, Mass.
This work is the ablest, the most
scholarly of any which has emsnated
from the pen of an Afro-American.
AS versatile, interesting. skilled,
painstaking and accurate writer, Prof
Du Bos takes from rank with the best /
scholars Of this day.
The steady flow Of references which
may be found at the bottom or each
and every page shows that he faithful
ly complied with all Of the require
ments of the Department Of History OF
Harvard University, and has given to
the literary world book, the accuracy
of which will not be questioned and its
utility as a standard authority not de-
MED.
Prof DU BoIs has arisen to the level
he was expected to reach and discuss
es the great social questions with
depth OF reasoning that is convincing,
and knowledge of the subject under
discussion that is sublime.
1t is well nigh impossible for one TO
realize that he is a member of the OPP
pressed race Of which be writes:
1.-The object of the monograph is ''to
set forth the efforts made in the Unit
/ 81 fof u from QQrIV
! NAL times until the present, to limit
and suppress the trade in slaves be-
tween Africa and these shores"
Under the caption of The Lesson
, for Americans. he says:
with the faith OF the nation broken
at the very outset, the system of sla-
, very untouched. and 20 years respite
given to the slave-trade to feed and
{ foster il, there began, with 1887, that
g system of bargaining, trucking and
compromising with a moral. political
and economic moustrosity, which
o makes the history of our dealing with
slavery the first half of the nineteenth
century so discreditable to great peo-
A pie.
Each generation sought to shift its
: load upon the next, and the burden
is rolled on, until a generation came
VIZ
o strong to bear it longer"
r He wisely remarks:
70 sOne cannot, to be sure, demand o.
T. whole nations exceptional moral fore
sight and heroism but certain, hard
"A common-sense in facing the complicat
, ed phenomena of political life must b'
!. expected in every progressive people,
Nv And again:
E. ''In some respects we as nation
OF seem to lack this; we have the some
what inchoate idea that we are not deS
tined to be harassed with great socia
" questions and that even il we are, AM
or fail 70 answer them, the fault is wit
ID the question and not with US. Conse
al quently we often congratulate our
selves more on getting rid of prob
lem than on solving It,
10 He concludes the warning as fol
J. lows:
st "It behooves the United States
. therefore in the interest both OF soien
tiEic truth and Of future social reform
. carefully to study such chapters OF he
history as that OF the suppression Q
g the slave-trads-
0~ fhe following in his concluding ols
u sertation covers the Growing infamy @
10 the nineteenth century-lynching
,ir "The most obvious question whic
this study suggests is: How FAR in
e State can q recognized moral wron
sir safely be compromised And althoug
this chapter of history can give US n
70 definite answer suited TO the ever-va
ryinR aspects of political life, yet
DC would seem to warn any nation fror
av allowing, through carelessness ar
Mt, moral cowardice, any social evil
grow"
No person would have seen the Civ
War with more surprise and horrC
than the Rovolutionists of 1776; ye
from the small and apparently dyin
institution of their day arose th
'U- walled Slave Power.
IN From this we may conclude that
behooves nations as we'll as men to
things ar the very moment when the
IN ought to be done.
ret
m LoNeMANs, GREEN & Co.. Publisher
he 9l-93 Fifth Avenue, New York.