The Suppression of the African Slave-trade to the United States of America

The Suppression of the African Slave-trade to the United States of America (1894) was the doctoral thesis of W. E. B. Du Bois while at Wilberforce University.[1]

The Suppression of the African Slave-trade to the United States of America

Author	W. E. B. Du Bois
Language	English
Publication date	1894

Du Bois summarized the book this way:

The question of the suppression of the slave-trade is so intimately connected with the questions as to its rise, the system of American slavery, and the whole colonial policy of the eighteenth century, that it is difficult to isolate it, and at the same time to avoid superficiality on the one hand, and unscientific narrowness of view on the other. While I could not hope entirely to overcome such a difficulty, I nevertheless trust that I have succeeded in rendering this monograph a small contribution to the scientific study of slavery and the American Negro.

The book opens by tracing the origins of slavery in the colonies to England and English plantations. Going into some detail about the colonies, he discusses measures meant to restrict the trade in each individual colony. He discusses each region as well as actions taken in the few years prior to Independence and during the 1787 Confederation.

Afterwards there is an overview of the Constitutional Convention, anti-slavery efforts influenced by the Haitian Revolution, and attempts to suppress slavery starting in 1807 by both America and International powers. The book concludes with thoughts on the American Civil War and the effect created by the cotton industry in the south.