A Madmans Will : : John Randolph, 400 Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom
Book - 2023 975.5 Ma, Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / 19th Century / May, Gregory 5 On Shelf No requests on this item
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Call Number: 975.5 Ma, Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / 19th Century / May, Gregory
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch
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Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout |
975.5 Ma | 4-week checkout | On Shelf |
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Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout |
Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / 19th Century / May, Gregory | 4-week checkout | On Shelf |
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Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout |
Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / 19th Century / May, Gregory | 4-week checkout | On Shelf |
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Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout |
Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / 19th Century / May, Gregory | 4-week checkout | On Shelf |
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Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout |
Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / 19th Century / May, Gregory | 4-week checkout | On Shelf |
Few legal cases in American history are as riveting as the controversy surrounding the will of Virginia Senator John Randolph (1773–1833), which―almost inexplicably―freed all 383 of his slaves in one of the largest and most publicized manumissions in American history. So famous is the case that Ta-Nehisi Coates has used it to condemn Randolph’s cousin, Thomas Jefferson, for failing to free his own slaves. With this groundbreaking investigation, historian Gregory May now reveals a more surprising story, showing how madness and scandal shaped John Randolph’s wildly shifting attitudes toward his slaves―and how endemic prejudice in the North ultimately deprived the freedmen of the land Randolph had promised them. Sweeping from the legal spectacle of the contested will through the freedmen’s dramatic flight and horrific reception in Ohio, A Madman’s Will is an extraordinary saga about the alluring promise of freedom and its tragic limitations.
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PUBLISHED
[S.l.] : Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2023.
Year Published: 2023
Description: 382 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 23 cm.
Language: English
Format: Book
ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
1324092211
9781324092216
SUBJECTS
Randolph, John, -- 1773-1833 -- Will.
Randolph, John, -- 1773-1833 -- Estate.
Enslaved people -- Emancipation -- Virginia.
Freedmen -- Ohio -- History.