Why read Dark Work?

Book cover of Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island

Book description

Tells the story of one state in particular whose role in the slave trade was outsized: Rhode Island
Historians have written expansively about the slave economy and its vital role in early American economic life. Like their northern neighbors, Rhode Islanders bought and sold slaves and supplies that sustained plantations…

Explore

Topics

Genres

American history

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Dark Work as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Joan E. Cashin

Author

This book establishes that slavery was central to the Rhode Island economy from the colonial period well into the nineteenth century.

For many years, historians concentrated on slavery in the South, but we now have great scholarship on slavery in the North. Clark-Pujara illustrates how the black community, including the women, struggled against oppression in New England.

Once I started reading, I could hardly put it down.

From Joan's list on The best books on gender and race in 18th and 19th Century America.