The true history of slavery in the United States

Walter D. Kennedy

ABOUT THE BOOK

Few issues have inspired as much debate, disgust, and dissent as that of slavery. While modern Americans are unanimous in their condemnation of slavery as cruel, unjust, and contrary to our nation's basic creed of individual freedom, it must be acknowledged that, less than 150 years ago, upstanding citizens legally bought and sold other human beings. This appalling contradiction has inspired a host of incorrect and unjust myths about slavery that have, over time, attained the widely accepted credence of historical fact.

Among the beliefs that Mr. Kennedy decries in this book are: slavery was devised by Christians; slavery exclusively exploits blacks; slavery was a purely Southern institution; the church condemned slavery as a sin; slavery was uncommon and had negligible economic impact in Northern states; the North ended slavery for moral reasons; freed blacks enjoyed equality in the Northern states; and racial discrimination and segregation are legacies of Southern slavery.

Myths of American Slavery is not a defense of slavery but instead a sincere attempt to defeat the spread of misinterpretations and misrepresentations that continue to bedevil race relations and contaminate America's political landscape.