The Mighty Experiment

Free Labor versus Slavery in British Emancipation

Business & Finance, Career Planning & Job Hunting, Labor, Nonfiction, History, British
Cover of the book The Mighty Experiment by Seymour Drescher, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Seymour Drescher ISBN: 9780190291969
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: October 14, 2004
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Seymour Drescher
ISBN: 9780190291969
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: October 14, 2004
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

By the mid-eighteenth century, the transatlantic slave trade was considered to be a necessary and stabilizing factor in the capitalist economies of Europe and the expanding Americas. Britain was the most influential power in this system which seemed to have the potential for unbounded growth. In 1833, the British empire became the first to liberate its slaves and then to become a driving force toward global emancipation. There has been endless debate over the reasons behind this decision. This has been portrayed on the one hand as a rational disinvestment in a foundering overseas system, and on the other as the most expensive per capita expenditure for colonial reform in modern history. In this work, Seymour Drescher argues that the plan to end British slavery, rather than being a timely escape from a failing system, was, on the contrary, the crucial element in the greatest humanitarian achievement of all time. The Mighty Experiment explores how politicians, colonial bureaucrats, pamphleteers, and scholars taking anti-slavery positions validated their claims through rational scientific arguments going beyond moral and polemical rhetoric, and how the infiltration of the social sciences into this political debate was designed to minimize agitation on both sides and provide common ground. Those at the inception of the social sciences, such as Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus, helped to develop these tools to create an argument that touched on issues of demography, racism, and political economy. By the time British emancipation became legislation, it was being treated as a massive social experiment, whose designs, many thought, had the potential to change the world. This study outlines the relationship of economic growth to moral issues in regard to slavery, and will appeal to scholars of British history, nineteenth century imperial history, the history of slavery, and those interested in the history of human rights. The Mighty Experiment was the winner of First Prize, Frederick Douglass Book Prize, Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

By the mid-eighteenth century, the transatlantic slave trade was considered to be a necessary and stabilizing factor in the capitalist economies of Europe and the expanding Americas. Britain was the most influential power in this system which seemed to have the potential for unbounded growth. In 1833, the British empire became the first to liberate its slaves and then to become a driving force toward global emancipation. There has been endless debate over the reasons behind this decision. This has been portrayed on the one hand as a rational disinvestment in a foundering overseas system, and on the other as the most expensive per capita expenditure for colonial reform in modern history. In this work, Seymour Drescher argues that the plan to end British slavery, rather than being a timely escape from a failing system, was, on the contrary, the crucial element in the greatest humanitarian achievement of all time. The Mighty Experiment explores how politicians, colonial bureaucrats, pamphleteers, and scholars taking anti-slavery positions validated their claims through rational scientific arguments going beyond moral and polemical rhetoric, and how the infiltration of the social sciences into this political debate was designed to minimize agitation on both sides and provide common ground. Those at the inception of the social sciences, such as Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus, helped to develop these tools to create an argument that touched on issues of demography, racism, and political economy. By the time British emancipation became legislation, it was being treated as a massive social experiment, whose designs, many thought, had the potential to change the world. This study outlines the relationship of economic growth to moral issues in regard to slavery, and will appeal to scholars of British history, nineteenth century imperial history, the history of slavery, and those interested in the history of human rights. The Mighty Experiment was the winner of First Prize, Frederick Douglass Book Prize, Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Nuclear Energy by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book Accidental Intolerance by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book Islam and the West by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book A Matter of Style by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book Liberty and Conscience by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book This Mortal Coil by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book Cracking the Particle Code of the Universe by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book The History of Music Production by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book The Mind Possessed by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book Living with Darwin by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book Lawyers' Poker by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book A Diplomatic Revolution by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book Material Dreams by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book Betting the Company by Seymour Drescher
Cover of the book Gender in Psycho-Oncology by Seymour Drescher
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy