Books about Melishes from Amazon.com

Following the abolition of slavery in New England, white citizens seemed to forget that it had ever existed there. Drawing on a wide array of primary sources--from slaveowners' diaries to children's daybooks to racist broadsides--Joanne Pope Melish reveals not only how northern society changed but how its perceptions changed, and how the collective amnesia about local slavery's existence became a significant component of New England regional identity. 9 photos..
Price: $17.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

While public debates over America's current foreign policy often treat American empire as a new phenomenon, this lively collection of essays demonstrates that notions of empire have long framed debates over western expansion, Indian removal, African slavery, Asian immigration, and global economic dominance, and they persist today despite the proliferation of anti-imperialist rhetoric. In 15 essays, distinguished historians examine the central role of empire in American race relations, nationalism, and foreign policy from the founding of the U.S. to the 21st century..
Price: $18.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The son and grandson of slaves owned by abolitionist Moses Brown, William J. Brown was a free African American born in Providence in 1814. Brown published his captivating autobiography, The Life of William J. Brown of Providence, R.I., in 1883. His compelling and insightful story is a memorable portrait of life and society in nineteenth-century New England: his childhood, his unusually good educational opportunities, employment, contemporary race relations, the port's bustling seafaring life, temperance, religion, organized societies, and local and national politics. He wrote of prominent African American contemporaries, including Frederick Douglass and Henry Bibb, and of African American troops in the Civil War. This is an impressively rich text, remarkable for its time and place. Unlike official records and other types of primary sources--frequently written from the opaque, self-interested perspective of upper-middle-class white Americans--this extraordinary memoir provides an authentic window on black experiences in nineteenth-century New England.

Expertly framed by Rosalind C. Wiggins's engaging preface and a new scholarly introduction by historian Joanne Pope Melish, The Life of William J. Brown of Providence, R.I. will spellbind readers interested in African American and New England literature, history, and culture..
Price: $11.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]