Proscription by Degrees : The Abolition of the Slave Trade to the United States

This book provides a comprehensive and multi-layered account of the abolition of the slave trade to the United States. It is intended for students and scholars interested in slavery and abolition in the Atlantic world.

In this book, Kenneth Morgan provides the most comprehensive account of the abolition of the slave trade to the United States since W. E. B. Du Bois''s 1896 The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638–1970. Utilizing a wider range of resources and exploring the economic, social, moral, and political considerations, Morgan creates a multi-layered account that explains why abolition was a protracted affair that proceeded by degrees over nearly half a century. He appraises the role of abolitionist individuals, groups, and societies in bringing abolition to the forefront of public discussion across North America, and the decisive role of the US constitution and the constitutional convention that eventually led to proscription in 1808, which made abolition constitutionally possible.