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Breaking the Chains by William Loren Katz
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Breaking the Chains

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Breaking the Chains by William Loren Katz
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Jan 30, 2024 | ISBN 9781644212660

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    Jan 30, 2024 | ISBN 9781644212653 | Young Adult

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  • Jan 30, 2024 | ISBN 9781644212660 | Young Adult

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Praise

“Invaluable history.” –Alice Walker

“Katz masterfully steers the reader step by step through the astonishing forms of resistance, both active and passive. . . . this powerful and authentic collection will be welcomed by those seeking to reclaim the truth behind their heritage.” Publishers Weekly

“[Breaking the Chains]
will force many readers to reexamine their assumptions about American history….Young adults will be fascinated and better informed for having experienced this book.” School Library Journal, starred review

“He wrote about heroic black women, slave rebellions and antislavery movements when discussing such matters was dangerous and seen as unpatriotic,” –Jesse Weaver Shipley, professor of African and African American Studies and Oratory at Dartmouth College

“Using documented evidence from slaves and former slaves, Katz contradicts the oft-repeated contention that African-Americans were satisfied with their lot and did little to free themselves. The European slave trade began the day Columbus landed. Though evidence was often suppressed, the tradition of resistance can claim equal antiquity, as Katz has shown briefly in other books, notably Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage (1986). Here, using primary sources and direct quotes, he not only describes in detail the violent rebellions–Nat Turner’s, Gabriel Prosser’s, Denmark Vesey’s, the 150-some that happened at sea–but also explores quieter methods of resistance and escape; how black slaves presented deceptively content faces while using family ties, religion, coded folk-tales and a sense of community to keep the hope of freedom alive. He shows that strong family values and education were prized, then describes the role black men and women played in the skilled trades, in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and in the Abolition movement. As usual, the author’s narrative is clear, even-toned, logically structured, and neither dry nor lurid. A significant contribution to American history. Bibliography; index; illustrated with historical photos, engravings, etc.”
Kirkus Reviews

“A major contribution, particularly valuable because the subject has been overlooked.” –John Hope Franklin

Table Of Contents

CONTENTS
Introduction to the 2023 edition by Robin D. G. Kelley
Introduction by William Loren Katz
 
FIGHTING BONDAGE ON LAND AND SEA
 
1. The First Rebels
 
DAILY TOIL, PERILOUS STRUGGLE
 
2. A “Troublesome Property”
3. The Battle for Family and Knowledge
4. Disrupting Plantation Life
5. Industrial and Urban Resistance
6. Music for Jesus, Lyrics of Freedom
 
FLIGHT AND REVOLT
 
7. Seeking Freedom and Seeking Community
8. Revolts in the Age of Revolution
9. Nineteenth-Century Rebels against Slavery
10. The Fiery Abolitionists
 
MARCHING TO FREEDOM
 
11. The Enslaved People’s Civil War
12. The Bayonets of Freedom
13. From Liberation . . . to Protest
 
Bibliography
Index

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