The Exiles of Florida or, The Crimes Committed by our Government Against the Maroons, Scarce First Edition, 1858

Joshua Giddings

First Edition

[Slavery & Abolition] Gidding, Joshua R. The Exiles of Florida or, The Crimes Committed by our Government Against the Maroons, who fled from South Carolina and other Slave States, Seeking Protection Under Spanish Laws. Columbus, Ohio: Follett, Foster and Co. First Edition, 1858. Original brown cloth binding with gilt text to spine. Engraved frontispiece titled "Death of Waxe-hadjo." 8vo. 338 pages. This book addresses a little-acknowledged chapter in American history: the U.S. government's military persecution of the Black Seminoles—enslaved people who escaped bondage in the American South and found refuge in Spanish Florida, where they established communities alongside the Seminole Nation. These fugitives, often referred to as "Maroons," forged a unique Afro-Indigenous alliance that posed a direct threat to the system of slavery, especially as their population grew and as they resisted U.S. efforts to capture and re-enslave them. The author, Joshua Giddings, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio, a leading abolitionist of the era, and one of the few white politicians to openly and consistently condemn these policies. Giddings frames the U.S. government's actions as not only morally indefensible but a betrayal of national ideals, arguing that the Maroons had every legal and ethical right to seek asylum in Spanish Florida, which did not recognize slavery in the same way as the American South. He draws on government records, military correspondence, and personal testimony to present a damning case of state violence and racial injustice. The volume includes a dramatic engraved frontispiece and remains a landmark of antislavery literature, notable for centering African-descended resistance and for critiquing American imperialism and pro-slavery policy. Some wear to covers and foxing throughout, binding and text remain tight and clean with some minor looseness to front cover. Overall very good condition. (Sabin, 27327; Field, 606.).

Item #21700

Price: $350.00