A Self-Evident Lie: Southern Slavery and the Threat to American Freedom (American Abolitionism and Antislavery)
"Jeremy J. Tewell's reflective and instructive new book puts the Declaration of Independence front and center, and tackles newspaper columnists, pamphleteers, and legislators who committed to the battle of words in the feverish years before men marched into battle. . . . [It]is a clear and concise synthesis of an idea, carried forward more than fourscore years, that deserves to command our attention."--Andrew Burstein, Louisiana State University,co-author ofMadison and Jefferson    "For anyone interested in issues related to Lincoln, slavery, and the Civil War, Jeremy Tewell has provided an often elegant, always thoughtful intellectual feast."--Michael S. Green, College of Southern Nevada"In this persuasive book, the author examines the extent to which nineteenth-century Americans agreed with the idea that all meant all and, specifically, that this statement included African Americans. This was not merely an esoteric argument about the wording of  the Declaration of Independence; instead, this debate went to the heart  of the sectional crisis before the Civil War."--Barbara Gannon, assistant professor of history at the University of Central Florida, author ofThe Won CauseTewell adds a new facet to the scholarship of nineteenth-century antislavery/proslavery debates . . . . Highly recommended.--Choice