The fearless Benjamin Lay
Subtitle: the Quaker dwarf who became the first revolutionary abolitionist
By: Marcus Rediker
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 212
ISBN-13: 9780807035924
Subjects: Quakers; Dissenters; Abolitionists; Dwarfs (Persons); Antislavery movements; Biography; History
Description: "The Fearless Benjamin Lay chronicles the transatlantic life and times of a singular and astonishing man--a Quaker dwarf who became one of the first ever to demand the total, unconditional emancipation of all enslaved Africans around the world. He performed public guerrilla theater to shame slave masters, insisting that human bondage violated the fundamental principles of Christianity. He wrote a fiery, controversial book against bondage that Benjamin Franklin published in 1738. He lived in a cave, made his own clothes, refused to consume anything produced by slave labor, championed animal rights, and embraced vegetarianism. He acted on his ideals to create a new, practical, revolutionary way of life"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-190, 207-209) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: Prophet against slavery; title: Early life; title: "A man of strife & contention"; title: Philadelphia's "Men of renown"; title: How slave keepers became apostates; title: Books and a new life; title: Death, memory, impact; title: Conclusion: The giant oak.