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THESES

AND DISSERTATIONS

A repository for master’s theses and doctoral dissertations by BCSA and NBGN members. NBGN members can enter information about their thesis and upload pdfs, website administrators will approve final postings.

Doing battle in freedom’s cause: Henry Bibb, abolitionism, race uplift, and Black manhood, 1842-1854

Abstract 215

“Doing Battle in Freedom's Cause" is about the life and work of Henry Bibb, Black abolitionist and civil rights advocate, in the United States and Canada, from 1842 to 1854. It examines Bibb's activism as an antislavery lecturer and writer, his role as a convention leader, his participation in political abolition, and his work on the Underground Railroad. Bibb's founding of the Refugee Home Society, and the 'Voice of the Fugitive', Canada's first Black newspaper is also explored. A central theme of my analysis is the role of women in Bibb's life. In addition, this dissertation engages with the question of Black manhood and masculinity. This work builds on the recently emerged scholarship on Black abolitionism. This new scholarship seeks to highlight the profound impact that the Black abolitionists made on the antislavery movement. As I researched Bibb's life, and engaged with some primary sources, I became dissatisfied with the state of the history of African Canadian abolitionism, and the existing literature on Bibb. "Doing Battle in Freedom's Cause" is an original contribution to the scholarship on North American Black history and abolitionism, and seeks to restore Bibb to his rightful position as a foremost champion of Black freedom. It breaks new ground in several salient ways. A separatist/integrationist framework has characterized much of the history of African-Canadian abolitionism. This framework has been used uncritically in much of the exploration of Bibb's life. This focus has served to distort and undermine Bibb's achievements. I have critiqued this interpretation and suggested new ways of looking at the ideology and philosophy that informed Bibb's thought and action and those of other Black abolitionists in North America, especially Canada. I have also proposed that a transborder perspective be applied to the study of Bibb's life. Bibb lived in both the United States and Canada at different periods of his life, and went back and forth across the Canadian/American border in his antislavery work and uplift activities. His commitment to Black liberation did not stop at either side of the border. The nation-state (whether Canada or the United States) therefore proves inadequate as an analytical category for the study of the life of this abolitionist. Bibb's own transnational identity draws attention to the transnational subjectivities of his fellow border-crossing African Americans.

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DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Author

Cooper, Afua

Title

Doing battle in freedom’s cause: Henry Bibb, abolitionism, race uplift, and Black manhood, 1842-1854

Subjects

American history, Black Studies, Canadian history, History, Slavery

Document Type

PhD dissertation

Source

University of Toronto University of Toronto

Language

English

Publication Date

2000