How American symbols inspired enslaved people and their allies to fight for true freedom
In the early United States, anthems, flags, holidays, monuments, and memorials were powerful symbols of an American identity that helped unify a divided people. A language of freedom played a similar role in shaping the new nation. The Declaration of Independence's assertion "that all men are created equal," Patrick Henry's cry of "Give me liberty, or give me death!," and Francis Scott Key's "star-spangled banner" waving over "the land of the free and the home of the brave," were anthemic celebrations of a newly free people. Resonating across the country, they encouraged the creation of a republic where the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" was universal, natural, and inalienable.
For enslaved people and their allies, the language and symbols that served as national touchstones made a mockery of freedom. Deriding the ideas that infused the republic's founding, they encouraged an empty American culture that accepted the abstract notion of equality rather than the concrete idea. Yet, as award-winning author Matthew J. Clavin reveals, it was these powerful expressions of American nationalism that inspired forceful and even violent resistance to slavery.
Symbols of Freedom is the surprising story of how enslaved people and their allies drew inspiration from the language and symbols of American freedom. Interpreting patriotic words, phrases, and iconography literally, they embraced a revolutionary nationalism that not only justified but generated open opposition. Mindful and proud that theirs was a nation born in blood, these disparate patriots fought to fulfill the republic's promise by waging war against slavery.
In a time when the US flag, the Fourth of July, and historical sites have never been more contested, this book reminds us that symbols are living artifacts whose power is derived from the meaning with which we imbue them.
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"As Clavin demonstrates in this superb, highly readable book, enslaved Americans and their abolitionist allies rejected false icons by demanding an honest, literal interpretation of patriotic symbols. In the process, these men and women crafted a discourse that justified and stirred revolutionary violence in the name of Black liberation and a more egalitarian republic. Astute and original." - Douglas R. Egerton, Lincoln Prize-winning author of Thunder at the Gates: The Black Civil War Regiments That Redeemed America "With thorough research and keen insight, Clavin offers a powerful corrective to misguided assumptions about the nature of American nationalism. In their words and deeds, in their songs and images, enslaved people and their abolitionist allies claimed the revolutionary symbols of the United States. Clavin's action-packed account reorients antebellum history and reminds us of America's enduring radical traditions." - Benjamin L. Carp, author of The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution "The struggle by enslaved people and their allies against human bondage took many forms, and Symbols of Freedom shows how the opponents of slavery made the symbols and language of American nationalism vital to that fight. Inspired by an American revolutionary tradition that made even violent resistance necessary and just in the pursuit of freedom, they rejected slavery with a forcefulness rooted in ideas about the promise of the United States conjured by its flag, its holidays, and the soaring rhetoric of its founding. At a historical moment when nationalism and patriotism seem like suspect notions steeped in reactionary politics, Clavin reminds us that they hold the potential for radical change." - Joshua D. Rothman, author of The Ledger and the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America "As contemporary battles over Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project show, educators, politicians, and citizens alike need new scholarly work that speaks to the complex relationship between race and nation-building in early American history. This will surely be an insightful and impactful book on the racialized making and meaning of American nationalism." - Angela F. Murphy, author of The Jerry Rescue: The Fugitive Slave Law, Northern Rights, and the American Sectional Crisis "An accessible and engaging discussion of how nationalist symbols were used by enslaved people and antislavery activists to expand the struggle for racial justice. Symbols of Freedom is a highly valuable contribution to the current discussions of patriotism and historical artifacts, and the way in which a nation chooses to tell its own complex story. This is an essential read." - Richard Newman, author of Abolitionism: A Very Short Introduction "Clavin argues persuasively that the nation's iconic national symbols and images fueled and shaped slave and anti-slavery resistance before the Civil War. A deeply researched, generously illustrated perspective on antebellum America." (Kirkus Reviews) "In an era where many people in the U.S are protesting racism, this book is important reading for audiences of all levels to gain an understanding of past symbols of freedom and resistance and a way of looking forward." (Library Journal (starred)) "Symbols of Freedom takes readers on a journey into the lives and struggles of those who refused to accept their status in this country as property to be abused, overworked, and barbarically discarded. Clavin vividly portrays the resilience, courage, and intelligence of enslaved individuals who harnessed the power of these symbols to wage a war against the institution of slavery." (New York Amsterdam News) "Clavin endeavours to reclaim American nationalism by showing its centrality to one of the most transformative social justice movements in this country's history, the anti-slavery movement...Clavin maintains a hopeful outlook, convinced that 'the language and symbols of American freedom' can continue to inspire freedom seekers today just as they have since the nation's founding." (Social History) "Clavin's work is both unique and insightful, offering a clear understanding of the complexity of slavery and symbolism in the antebellum United States. Symbols of Freedom invites professional historians, students, and nonacademic readers to critically reevaluate the meanings of these symbols of national freedom and equality as perceived by both southern slaveholders and opponents of slavery." (H-Net: Humanities and Sociology Reviews) "Clavin weaves together a narrative that demonstrates how Black Americans such as Benjamin Lundy, Samuel Cornish, John Russwurm, and Frederick Douglass appropriated the language and symbols of freedom to appeal to the conscious of Americans, and underscore that America's destiny was always 'a place of freedom and equality'" (North Carolina Historical Review)
Matthew J. Clavin is Professor of History at the University of Houston and the author of The Battle of Negro Fort: The Rise and Fall of a Fugitive Slave Community, Aiming for Pensacola: Fugitive Slaves on the Atlantic and Southern Frontiers, and Toussaint Louverture and the American Civil War: The Promise and Peril of a Second Haitian Revolution.
