China in American Abolitionism, 1830–1865

Abstract Often neglected by scholars, China actually played a role in America’s abolitionist movement from 1830 to 1865. Anti-slavery crusaders invoked the country to reinforce their moral suasion, which emerged as one major tactic against slavery after the 1830s. Appropriating the prevailing stereotype of China as an uncivilized and pitiable Other, they presented the characterization as a reference to expose the barbarity and hypocrisy of pro-slavery Americans, as well as the insincerity of Britons regarding abolition. Although white and Black activists emphasized different aspects along racial lines, they were united in leveraging this moral campaign to shame self-styled leaders of civilization into reconsidering their position on slavery. In the process, abolitionists sustained America’s Orientalist condescension toward the Chinese. China became an abolitionist weapon not because of its national power, but because of its perceived backwardness.