Term Paper on "Analytical Evaluation of Gary Nash's Race and Revolution"

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Race and Revolution by Gary Nash. Specifically it will contain an analysis of the book. The author's thesis for this short history of enslavement and rebellion during the American Revolution is what made the founding fathers fail to abolish slavery when they had the opportunity. He writes, "In particular, I wish to stress the role of the northern states in the failure to abolish slavery and to show how economic and cultural factors intertwined in what was not a judicious decision by the leaders of the new American nation but their most tragic failure" (Nash, 1990, p. 6). In addition, the book looks at how revolutionaries at first embraced abolition, their failure to create a slave-free nation, and the way black Americans coped in the white world after Revolution.

The author's purpose in writing this book was to take a different view of the American Revolution, and why the founding fathers failed to outlaw slavery in this new world. This is one of the most enduring questions in American history. Why did it take 100 years and a war to end slavery, when the founding fathers could have ended the practice once and for all when they framed the Constitution? This is a hard decision to understand, and he shows that it was difficult for the founding fathers, as well. For example, he writes, "Such poignant comments [against slavery], often coming from the South as well as the North, tell us that in the eyes of many leaders the continuing presence of slavery left the union of states highly fragile from the day the Constitution took effect" (Nash, 1990, p. 27). However, abolitionism failed, and the country would have to fight a Civil War to finally settle the issue of slavery. This book helps the history student understand the phenomenon that led to this failure, and then how it affected the country until the Civil War occurred.

The author organizes the information quite well in chapters that discuss before, during, and after the American Revolution and the changing views of slavery. In fact, he uses a timeline of sorts to organize the book, which makes it easy to place in context with other texts on the Revolution. He follows the birth of a new nation with changing views on society and culture, and shows a trend that began in the early 19th century that doomed the abolitionist movement. He writes, "Any ember of northern desire to participate in a national plan for abolition, gradual or immediate, had ceased to glow. Instead, a belligerent white supremacism was manifesting itself throughout the North" (Nash, 1990, p. 49). He found this trend continued throughout the first half of the century in many areas, which explains at least some of why the blacks did not gain their freedom before the Civil War.

The book is actually composed of a series of essays, and the author produces large volumes of proof to support the claims in these essays, which he presents at the end of the book. Thus, the student can examine Nash's conclusions and then easily back them up with the authentic historical documents he used to reach his conclusions. For example, he uses a number of documents as testimonials in the First Chapter to specify just how many people were against slavery both before and during the Revolution, and to point out that the framers of the American Constitution did have a choice, but they did not utilize it.

They clearly could have eliminated slavery, and it was actually an excellent time to try to end the practice. However, for a variety of reasons, they did not, and the documents in this chapter help offer information about why they passed over this opportunity. Thus, he uses his research and documents quite effectively, but more than that, he presents his conclusions quite frankly, leaving the student no question… READ MORE

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