Slavery and Abolition in Hamilton's America
Slavery has a long history in New York, beginning with the first dutch settlements and persisting well into the nineteenth century. Antislavery activity in the region existed from the outset. Following the Revolutionary War, abolitionist efforts reflected both the urgency of the moment and the fragility of the new Republic. Tensions flared within a diverse movement that included not only elite foes like Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr but also lesser-known figures, both black and white, fighting bondage from below.
Anthony Di Lorenzo is a Lapidus Fellow at the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He received his Ph.D. in American history from Loyola University Chicago (2016), His current book project recovers and analyzes the most radical voices in the early abolitionist movement, tracing the ideological divisions that arose during the Age of Revolution. He has held fellowships from the Gilder Lehrman Institute and the International Center for Jefferson Studies, among others, and published work in the journals Eighteenth-Century Thought and Common-Place.