African Americans and the Haitian Revolution : Selected Essays and Historical Documents

The importance of the Haitian Revolution as a defining event for African Americans has long been recognized by scholars. In particular, the Haitian Revolution has been for African Americans of different eras a vehicle through which collective memory and identity are created and transformed – an event that has inspired and influenced black nationalism, abolitionism, black socialist and revolutionary thought, and Pan Africanism. Bringing together scholarly essays and helpfully annotated primary documents, African Americans and the Haitian Revolution collects not only the best recent scholarship on the subject, but also showcases the primary texts written by African Americans about the Haitian Revolution. Rather than being about the revolution itself, this collection attempts to show how the events in Haiti served to galvanize African Americans to think about themselves and to act in accordance with their beliefs, and contributes to the study of African Americans in the wider Atlantic World. Bringing Together Scholarly Essays And Helpfully Annotated Primary Documents, African Americans And The Haitian Revolution Collects Not Only The Best Recent Scholarship On The Subject, But Also Showcases The Primary Texts Written By African Americans About The Haitian Revolution. Rather Than Being About The Revolution Itself, This Collection Attempts To Show How The Events In Haiti Served To Galvanize African Americans To Think About Themselves And To Act In Accordance With Their Beliefs, And Contributes To The Study Of African Americans In The Wider Atlantic World.--jacket. Fever And Fret : The Haitian Revolution And African American Responses / Maurice Jackson And Jacqueline Bacon -- Afro-american Sailors And The International Communication Network : The Case Of Newport Bowers / Julius S. Scott -- The Roots Of Early Black Nationalism : Northern African American's Invocations Of Haiti In The Early Nineteenth Century / Sara C. Fanning -- The Black Republic : The Influence Of The Haitian Revolution On Northern Black Political Consciousness, 1816-1862 / Leslie M. Alexander -- A Revolution Unexampled In The History Of Man : The Haitian Revolution In Freedom's Journal, 1827-1829 / Jacqueline Bacon -- Antebellum African Americans, Public Commemoration, And The Haitian Revolution : A Problem Of Historical Mythmaking / Mitch Kachun -- American Toussaints : Symbol, Subversion, And The Black Atlantic Tradition In The American Civil War / Matthew J. Clavin --^ The Spirit Of Human Brotherhood, The Sisterhood Of Nations, And Perfect Manhood : Frederick Douglass And The Rhetorical Significance Of The Haitian Revolution / Glen Mcclish -- No Man Could Hinder Him : Remembering Toussaint Louverture And The Haitian Revolution In The History And Culture Of The African American People / Maurice Jackson -- The Condition And Prospects Of Hayti / John Browne Russwurm -- The Haitian Revolution In Freedom's Journal, The First African American Newspaper : 1827-1828 -- From A Lecture On The Haytien Revolutions With A Sketch Of The Character Of Toussaint L'ouverture, Delivered At The Stuyvesant Institute, For The Benefit Of The Colored Orphan Asylum, February 26, 1841 / James Mccune Smith -- From St. Domingo : Its Revolutions And Its Patriots : A Lecture Delivered Before The Metropolitan Athenaeum, London, May 16, And At St. Thomas' Church, Philadelphia, December 20, 1854 / William Wells Brown --^ From A Vindication Of The Capacity Of The Negro Race For Self-government, And Civilized Progress As Demonstrated By Historical Events Of The Haytian Revolution And The Subsequent Acts Of That People Since Their National Independence / James Theodore Holly -- The Haitian Revolution In Resolutions Adopted By African American State And Regional Conventions 1858, 1859, 1865 -- From Men Of Mark : Eminent, Progressive, And Rising / William J. Simmons -- From Lecture On Haiti : The Haitian Pavilion Dedication Ceremonies Delivered At The World's Fair In Jackson Park, Chicago, Jan. 2d. 1893 / Frederick Douglass -- The Same / Langston Hughes -- From A History Of Pan-african Revolt / C.l.r. James -- Mister Toussan / Ralph Ellison -- Ho Chi Minh Is Toussaint L'ouverture Of Indo-china / Paul Robeson. Edited By Maurice Jackson And Jacqueline Bacon. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 Introduction 10 PART I Essays 16 1 Fever and Fret: The Haitian Revolution and African American Responses 18 2 Afro-American Sailors and The International Communication Network: The Case of Newport Bowers 34 3 The Roots of Early Black Nationalism: Northern African Americans’ Invocations of Haiti in the Early Nineteenth Century 48 4 “The Black Republic”: The Influence of the Haitian Revolution on Northern Black Political Consciousness, 1816–1862 66 5 “A Revolution Unexampled in the History of Man": The Haitian Revolution in Freedom’s Journal, 1827–1829 90 6 Antebellum African Americans, Public Commemoration, and the Haitian Revolution: A Problem of Historical Mythmaking 102 7 American Toussaints: Symbol, Subversion, and the Black Atlantic Tradition in the American Civil War 116 8 “The Spirit of Human Brotherhood,” “The Sisterhood of Nations,” and “Perfect Manhood”: Frederick Douglass and the Rhetorical Significance of the Haitian Revolution 132 9 No Man Could Hinder Him: Remembering Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution in the History and Culture of the African American People 150 PART II Historical Documents 174 “The Condition and Prospects of Hayti” (1826) 176 The Haitian Revolution in Freedom’s Journal, the First African American Newspaper: 1827–1828 178 From A Lecture on the Haytien Revolutions; With a Sketch of the Character of Toussaint L’Ouverture. Delivered at the Stuyvesant Institute, (For the Benefit of the Colored Orphan Asylum,) February 26, 1841 186 From St. Domingo: Its Revolutions and its Patriots. A Lecture, Delivered Before the Metropolitan Athenaeum, London, May 16, and at St. Thomas’ Church, Philadelphia, December 20, 1854 192 From A Vindication of the Capacity of the Negro Race for Self-Government, and Civilized Progress, as Demonstrated by Historical Events of the Haytian Revolution; and the Subsequent Acts of that People Since Their National Independence (1857) 198 The Haitian Revolution in Resolutions Adopted by African American State and Regional Conventions (1858, 1859, 1865) 203 From Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive, and Rising (1887) 204 From Lecture on Haiti. The Haitian Pavilion Dedication Ceremonies Delivered at the World’s Fair, in Jackson Park, Chicago, Jan. 2d, 1893 211 “The Same” (1932) 221 From A History of Pan-African Revolt (1938 [1969]) 223 “Mister Toussan” (1941) 232 “Ho Chi Minh is Toussaint L’Ouverture of Indo-China” (1954) 239 Bibliography 242 Contributors 258 Index 262