The Yankee Slave Driver; or, The Black and White Rivals.

[SMUCKER, Samuel Mosheim].

$200.00

Item Number: 142308

Philadelphia: G.G. Evans, 1858.

Early printing of this early American abolitionist novel set in Louisiana and attributed to Samuel Smucker. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth, recased, illustrated. In very good condition. Reinforced interior hinges. Rare.

An integral part of the abolitionist movement in the United States, anti-slavery literature played an essential role in disseminating antislavery views to the masses. Literature was distributed in a variety of forms, including books, journals, pamphlets, and newspapers and included narratives, prose, poetry, and lyrical verse. Slave narratives most clearly captured the voice of the slave who had experienced firsthand the injustices of the slave system. Some of the most compelling antislavery arguments appeared in the written works that originated from slaves who spoke of the filthy living quarters, inadequate meals, long hours of backbreaking labor, the separation of families on the auction block, and especially of the brutal beatings suffered under the lash that were often times administered by the master with little provocation. Anti-slavery novels, too, had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S., most notably Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin which is said to have "helped lay the groundwork for the [American] Civil War."