The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America 1638-1870

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The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America 1638-1870

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Title: The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America 1638-1870
Author: W. E. B. Du Bois
Release Date: February 7, 2006 [EBook #17700]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE SUPPRESSION OF THE AFRICAN SLAVE-TRADE TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1638-1870
Volume I Harvard Historical Studies
1896
Longmans, Green, and Co. New York
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Preface
This monograph was begun during my residence as Rogers Memorial Fellow at Harvard University, and is based mainly upon a study of the sources, i.e., national, State, and colonial statutes, Congressional documents, reports of societies, personal narratives, etc. The collection of laws available for this research was, I think, nearly complete; on the other hand, facts and statistics bearing on the economic side of the study have been difficult to find, and my conclusions are consequently liable to modification from this source.
The question of the suppression of the slave-trade is so intimately connected with the questions as to its rise, the system of American slavery, and the whole colonial policy of the eighteenth century, that it is difficult to isolate it, and at the same time to avoid superficiality on the one hand, and unscientific narrowness of view on the other. While I could not hope entirely to overcome such a difficulty, I nevertheless trust that I have succeeded in rendering this monograph a small contribution to the scientific study of slavery and the American Negro.
I desire to express my obligation to Dr. Albert Bushnell Hart, of Harvard University, at whose suggestion I began this work and by whose kind aid and encouragement I have brought it to a close; also I have to thank the trustees of the John F. Slater Fund, whose appointment made it possible to test the conclusions of this study by the general principles laid down in German universities.
W.E. BURGHARDT DU BOIS.
WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY, March, 1896.
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Contents
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
1. Plan of the Monograph 9 2. The Rise of the English Slave-Trade 9
CHAPTER II
THE PLANTING COLONIES
3. Character of these Colonies 15 4. Restrictions in Georgia 15 5. Restrictions in South Carolina 16 6. Restrictions in North Carolina 19 7. Restrictions in Virginia 19 8. Restrictions in Maryland 22 9. General Character of these Restrictions 23
CHAPTER III
THE FARMING COLONIES
10. Character of these Colonies 24 11. The Dutch Slave-Trade 24 12. Restrictions in New York 25 13. Restrictions in Pennsylvania and Delaware 28 14. Restrictions in New Jersey 32 15. General Character of these Restrictions 33
CHAPTER IV
THE TRADING COLONIES
16. Character of these Colonies 34 17. New England and the Slave-Trade 34 18. Restrictions in New Hampshire 36 19. Restrictions in Massachusetts 37 20. Restrictions in Rhode Island 40 21. Restrictions in Connecticut 43 22. General Character of these Restrictions 44
CHAPTER V
THE PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION, 1774-1787
23. The Situation in 1774 45 24. The Condition of the Slave-Trade 46 25. The Slave-Trade and the "Association" 47 26. The Action of the Colonies 48 27. The Action of the Continental Congress 49 28. Reception of the Slave-Trade Resolution 51 29. Results of the Resolution 52 30. The Slave-Trade and Public Opinion after the War 53 31. The Action of the Confederation 56
CHAPTER VI
THE FEDERAL CONVENTION, 1787
32. The First Proposition 58 33. The General Debate 59 34. The Special Committee and the "Bargain" 62 35. The Appeal to the Convention 64 36. Settlement by the Convention 66 37. Reception of the Clause by the Nation 67 38. Attitude of the State Conventions 70 39. Acceptance of the Policy 72
CHAPTER VII
TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE AND ANTI-SLAVERY EFFORT, 1787-1807
40. Influence of the Haytian Revolution 74 41. Legislation of the Southern States 75 42. Legislation of the Border States 76 43. Legislation of the Eastern States 76 44. First Debate in Congress, 1789 77 45. Second Debate in Congress, 1790 79 46. The Declaration of Powers, 1790 82 47. The Act of 1794 83 48. The Act of 1800 85 49. The Act of 1803 87 50. State of the Slave-Trade from 1789 to 1803 88 51. The South Carolina Repeal of 1803 89 52. The Louisiana Slave-Trade, 1803-1805 91 53. Last Attempts at Taxation, 1805-1806 94 54. Key-Note of the Period 96
CHAPTER VIII
THE PERIOD OF ATTEMPTED SUPPRESSION, 1807-1825
55. The Act of 1807 97 56. _The First Question: How shall