Series III. Slavery, 1836-1974

The materials in this series includes various aspects of American slavery. The earliest item is published in 1833 by the American Colonization Society (dedicated to the idea of relocating freed slaves and free African Americans to a colony in Africa). A nearly contemporary work calls for immediate emancipation of slaves. A 1928 work examines reporting on the alleged New York "Negro Plot" of 1741, when hysteria about possible slave revolts led arrests, executions, and removal of dozens of American slaves. There is an appreciation of American abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, and two works by noted scholar Herbert Aptheker on American slavery, a subject of study for which he was renowned. One looks at the labor movement in the South, and how slavery fit into the overall picture, while the other is a critique of a then-popular book Aptheker thought was utterly incorrect in its analysis of slavery condition.