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A Madman's Will: John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom
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A Madman's Will: John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom Hardcover - 2023

by Gregory May


From the publisher

Few legal cases in American history are as riveting as the controversy surrounding the will of Virginia Senator John Randolph (1773-1833), which--almost inexplicably--freed all 383 of his slaves in one of the largest and most publicized manumissions in American history. So famous is the case that Ta-Nehisi Coates has used it to condemn Randolph's cousin, Thomas Jefferson, for failing to free his own slaves. With this groundbreaking investigation, historian Gregory May now reveals a more surprising story, showing how madness and scandal shaped John Randolph's wildly shifting attitudes toward his slaves--and how endemic prejudice in the North ultimately deprived the freedmen of the land Randolph had promised them. Sweeping from the legal spectacle of the contested will through the freedmen's dramatic flight and horrific reception in Ohio, A Madman's Will is an extraordinary saga about the alluring promise of freedom and its tragic limitations.

From the rear cover

"In A Madman's Will, Greg May deftly explores a great mystery of nineteenth-century America: why did the most eloquent champion of southern slavery free hundreds of his own enslaved people? Combining the expertise of lawyer and historian, May unravels rich documents to reveal how northern whites frustrated an emancipation approved by southern courts."
--Alan Taylor

Details

  • Title A Madman's Will: John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom
  • Author Gregory May
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Pages 416
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Liveright Publishing Corporation
  • Date 2023-04-11
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9781324092216 / 1324092211
  • Weight 1.54 lbs (0.70 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.25 x 6.37 x 1.38 in (23.50 x 16.18 x 3.51 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 19th Century
  • Library of Congress subjects African Americans - Ohio - History, Randolph, John - Will
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2023012991
  • Dewey Decimal Code 306.362

Media reviews

Citations

  • Booklist, 02/15/2023, Page 6
  • Kirkus Reviews, 03/01/2023, Page 0
  • Library Journal, 05/19/2023, Page 1
  • Library Journal Prepub Alert, 11/01/2022, Page 15
  • Publishers Weekly, 01/30/2023, Page 0
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