An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans

Published in Boston in 1833, Lydia Maria Childs An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans provided the abolitionist movement with its first full-scale analysis of race and enslavement. Controversial in its own time, the Appeal surveyed the institution of slavery from historical, political, economic, legal, racial, and moral perspectives and advocated for the immediate emancipation of the enslaved without compensation to their enslavers. By placing American slavery in historical context and demonstrating how slavery impactedand implicatedAmericans of all regions and races, the Appeal became a central text for the abolitionist movement that continues to resonate in the present day. This revised and updated edition is enhanced by Carolyn L. Karchers illuminating introduction, a chronology of Childs life, and a list of books for further reading.