Tag: slavery
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The Sugar Barons by Matthew Parker
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Sugar Barons: Before the tea party was the sugar hell. Quick synopsis: The story of how a sugar empire was built in the Caribbean in the years after 1650. Fact for Non-History People: Processing sugar could kill you in many ways including by exploding stills. Fun Fact for History Nerds:…
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The Great Abolitionist by Stephen Puleo
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Great Abolitionist: Who would have thought slavery proponents could be so violent? Quick synopsis: The life of ardent American abolitionist and senator, Charles Sumner. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: While I don’t condone caning someone, it turns out Sumner did mock a colleague who just had a stroke during…
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Hell Put to Shame by Earl Swift
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hell Put to Shame: Hell is definitely where they are going. Quick synopsis: The story of the Murder Farm Massacre in 1921 Georgia. Fact for Non-History People: From 1889-1918, Black victims made up 93.3% of lynching cases in Georgia. Fact for History Nerds: The peonage system is tough to pin…
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Flee North by Scott Shane
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Flee North: Thomas Smallwood is the KING of trolling 1800s slaveowners. Quick synopsis: The story of an extremely successful branch of the Underground Railroad in the 1840s. Fact for Non-History People: After helping slaves escape, Smallwood would write and articles that Torrey published mocking the slaveowners for “losing” their slaves. Again,…
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A Madman’s Will by Gregory May
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Madman’s Will: He screwed up the best thing he ever did. Quick synopsis: The story of the 383 manumitted slaves of John Randolph. Fact for Non-History People: After 1806, Virginia required freed slaves to leave the area within one year because God forbid they start spreading that whole “freedom” idea…
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Africatown by Nick Tabor
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Africatown: Apparently, slavery wasn’t bad enough, so the discrimination just kept going. Quick synopsis: The story of the last slave ship to land in America and the fate of the people when slavery ended. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In 1850, cotton consumption worldwide was 1.5 billion pounds. By 1859,…
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The Black Joke by A. E. Rooks
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Black Joke: If you can’t beat them, steal their ship and then beat them. Quick synopsis: A story of a slave ship turned freedom ship off the coast of Africa in the 1800s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: A quarter of all the freed enslaved people were courtesy of…
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Liberty’s Chain by David Gellman
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Liberty’s Chain: A lot of mixed messages in this one. Quick synopsis: The story of Founding Father, John Jay, his descendants and their relation to slavery. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: John Jay still had slaves while serving as a prominent abolitionist. Fun Fact for History Nerds: In the six…
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Freedom on Trial by Scott Farris
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Freedom on Trial: Technically it was the KKK on trial. So “Idiots on Trial” would also work. Quick synopsis: A look at the Ku Klux Klan trials of South Carolina right after the Civil War. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: During the Ku Klux Klan trials, the juries were mostly…