Shining a Light on the Shadows

In the Shadow of Liberty: the Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives by Kenneth C. Davis.
New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2016.
xvii, 286 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

I was interested in this book as soon as I saw a review of it.  The Shadow of Liberty seemed like a great addition to the limited resources that we have on the period of the American Revolution and early history of the republic - and one that students might actually pick up and read.  As the book's subtitle indicates, it also might have a nice resonance with the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement. But what finally motivated me to read it this summer was seeing that one of our history teachers launched a Donors Choose page in order to get enough copies of the book for his class so he could use it as a central text.

This is a great young adult history book.  It's very interesting, has succinct chapters, and relates a history that is rarely told - the role of several of the first US presidents in keeping people enslaved.  It's also great in that it does not in anyway minimize the criminality and cruelty of enslaving people, but it also tries to wrestle with the complicated relationships that developed within that awful system.  Davis often just lets the actions of people speak for the conflicted loyalties, humanity and inhumanity that resulted from slavery.  He allows us to hear from former enslaved people when such texts exist, and lets us reach our own conclusions about why some enslaved people escaped when the opportunity arose and why some did not when the same circumstances existed.  He also tries hard to contextualize comments positive and negative that enslavers and the enslaved made.

I also really appreciate his introduction where he lays his own moral judgements on the table, and where he explains why he is so careful to use the word enslaved to describe those held in bondage instead of the word "slave." It is a powerful semantic tool, one which another writer on the history of slavery in the US also uses to great effect.

I'm glad that I read this book.  I'm pleased that it is going to be taught in our school.  I will definitely recommend it.