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Author:

May, Gregory, 1953- author.

Title:

A madman's will : John Randolph, 400 slaves, and the mirage of freedom / Gregory May.

Edition:

First edition.

Publisher:

Liveright Publishing Corporationa division of W.W. Norton & Company,

Copyright Date:

2023

Description:

xxiii, 382 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Subject:

Randolph, John,--1773-1833--Will.
Randolph, John,--1773-1833--Estate.
Enslaved persons--Emancipation--Virginia.
Freed persons--Ohio--History.
African Americans--Ohio--History.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-360) and index.

Summary:

"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. 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"-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN:

1324092211
9781324092216

OCLC:

(OCoLC)1374247405

LCCN:

bl2023012991

Locations:

GBPF771 -- Ankeny Kirkendall Public Library (Ankeny)

TCPG826 -- Bettendorf Public Library Information Center (Bettendorf)

UQAX771 -- Des Moines Area Community College Library - Ankeny (Carroll)

SAPG074 -- Cedar Falls Public Library (Cedar Falls)

YTPG232 -- Clinton Public Library (Clinton)

CDPF771 -- Clive Public Library (Clive)

CBPF522 -- Coralville Public Library (Coralville)

XXPH787 -- Council Bluffs Public Library (Council Bluffs)

TDPH826 -- Davenport Public Library (Davenport)

SIPD314 -- James Kennedy Public Library (Dyersville)

CAPH522 -- Iowa City Public Library (Iowa City)

GOPG641 -- Marshalltown Public Library (Marshalltown)

UJPE911 -- Norwalk Easter Public Library (Norwalk)

JKPC771 -- Polk City Community Library (Polk City)

LAPH975 -- Sioux City Public Library (Sioux City)

GDPF771 -- Urbandale Public Library (Urbandale)

KQPC446 -- Winfield Public Library (Winfield)