Focus Statement
Here we go:
Why were different shades of color used by American abolitionists to connect with, and illicit responses from, their readers? I will be using American abolitionist publications, in the form of newspapers, narratives, and images, to study “whiteness” and miscegenation in the antislavery movement. I hope to add to the ongoing discussion of antislavery strategies in the mobilization of female abolitionists and interracial organization in the fight for freedom.
David–how did issues and definitions of color relate to female abolitionism? Do you think that gender will play a role in your analysis of your sources?
This sounds good – I think framing the question as being about shades of whiteness/blackness rather than the (kind of) fixed category of whiteness could be very fruitful. I recommend John Stauffer’s book which looks at how race influenced relations between white and black abolitionists: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Hearts-Men-Abolitionists-Transformation/dp/0674013670/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1424895469&sr=8-3&keywords=john+stauffer You might also find some useful background in George Frederickson’s The Black Image in the White Mind, and Barbara Fields’ famous essay “Ideology and Race in American History.”
Thanks for the resources Dr. Quigley!
David