• "The Land of Liberty": Henry Bibb's Free Soil Geographies

    Author(s):
    James S. Finley (see profile)
    Date:
    2013
    Subject(s):
    American literature--African American authors, United States, Area studies, Environmental conditions
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Free Soil, Abolition of Slavery, Ecocriticism, African American literature, American studies, Environmental history
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6FF6X
    Abstract:
    This essay situates "The Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave" within the political context of the antislavery Free Soil movement, arguing that Bibb's representations of land and labor reflect the concerns of Free Soil. In particular, it argues that Bibb's narrative simultaneously critiques Free Soil ideology for its lack of a full-throated call for immediate abolition and its privileging of the white working class over both free and enslaved Black people. In addition, these aspects of Bibb’s Free Soil critique— both in condemning slavery and in reflexively challenging elements of Free Soil ideology—are more ecological than established Free Soil discourse, reflecting a deeper, more sensitive, and more radical understanding of material interconnection in regards to bodies, means of production, and topographies.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    10.1353/esq.2013.0021
    Publisher:
    Johns Hopkins University Press
    Pub. Date:
    2013-8-11
    Journal:
    ESQ: A Journal of the American Renaissance
    Volume:
    59
    Issue:
    2
    Page Range:
    231 - 261
    ISSN:
    1935-021X
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved

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