The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War - Paperback

The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War - Paperback

$19.99
$19.99
Skip to product information
The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War - Paperback
  • The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War - Paperback
The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War - Paperback

The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War - Paperback

$19.99
$19.99

by Jonathan Daniel Wells (Author)

Winner of a 2020-2021 New York City Book Award

In a rapidly changing New York, two forces battled for the city's soul: the pro-slavery New Yorkers who kept the illegal slave trade alive and well, and the abolitionists fighting for freedom.
We often think of slavery as a southern phenomenon, far removed from the booming cities of the North. But even though slavery had been outlawed in Gotham by the 1830s, Black New Yorkers were not safe. Not only was the city built on the backs of slaves; it was essential in keeping slavery and the slave trade alive. In The Kidnapping Club, historian Jonathan Daniel Wells tells the story of the powerful network of judges, lawyers, and police officers who circumvented anti-slavery laws by sanctioning the kidnapping of free and fugitive African Americans. Nicknamed "The New York Kidnapping Club," the group had the tacit support of institutions from Wall Street to Tammany Hall whose wealth depended on the Southern slave and cotton trade. But a small cohort of abolitionists, including Black journalist David Ruggles, organized tirelessly for the rights of Black New Yorkers, often risking their lives in the process. Taking readers into the bustling streets and ports of America's great Northern metropolis, The Kidnapping Club is a dramatic account of the ties between slavery and capitalism, the deeply corrupt roots of policing, and the strength of Black activism.

Author Biography

Jonathan Daniel Wells is a social, cultural, and intellectual historian and a Professor of History in the Departments of Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at Gonville & Caius College at the University of Cambridge. His published works include The Origins of the Southern Middle Class, Women Writers and Journalists in the Nineteenth-Century South, and A House Divided: The Civil War and Nineteenth-Century America. He lives in Detroit, Michigan.

Number of Pages: 368
Dimensions: 1.1 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN
Publication Date: February 07, 2023

Intentional design

We make things that work better and last longer. Our products solve real problems with clean design.

Quality first

We obsess over the details and strive to deliver the best products at the best prices, every time.

Customer care

We're always on your side: keeping our loyal customers happy is our top priority and number one goal.

At the heart of every product lies a unique story, driven by our passion for quality and innovation. Each item enhances your everyday life and sparks joy.