A Crisis of Conscience: Print Culture and Abolitionism in Revolutionary Boston

Key Points

Print culture revealed a tension between supporting slavery and advancing abolitionism among white Bostonians, and highlighted their conflicting views.
The use of newspapers and pamphlets allowed for the exchange of ideas that mobilized the abolitionist movement in New England.
Black Bostonians broke new ground in print and legislation, becoming powerful advocates in the fight against slavery.
The tensions in print culture triggered a significant conscience crisis, fueling the rise of the abolition movement.

Abstract

Abstract Print culture enabled and undermined slavery in Revolutionary Boston. This article explores how white Bostonians navigated this tension in newspapers and pamphlets and how Black Bostonians entered print and legislative spaces as unprecedented interlocutors and abolitionists. A crisis of conscience in print gave rise to a New England abolition movement.

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Cite This Study

William F. Morgan (Mon,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/68d44a3731b076d99fa53424 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1162/tneq.a.5