The Wanderer: The Last American Slave Ship and the Conspiracy That Set Its Sails
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.36 (875 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0312343477 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-02-08 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Built in 1856, the Wanderer began life as a luxury racing yacht, flying the pennant of the New York Yacht Club and cited as the successor to the famous yacht America. But within a year of its creation, the Wanderer was secretly converted into a slave ship, and, with the New York Yacht Club pennant still flying above as a diversion, sailed off to Africa. 28, 1858, a ship called the Wanderer slipped silently into a coastal channel and unloaded its cargo of over 400 African slaves onto Jekyll Island, Georgia, thirty eight years after the African slave trade had been made illegal. It was designed by its radical conspirators to defy the federal government and speed the nation's descent into civil war. The New York Times first reported the story as a hoax; however, as groups of Africans began to appear in the small towns surrounding Savannah, the story of the Wanderer began to leak out; igniting a fire of protest and debate that made headlines throughout the nation and across the Atlantic. As the story shifts between Savannah, Jekyll Island, the Congo River, London, and New York City, the Wanderer's tale is played out in heated Southern courtrooms, the offices of the New York Times, The White House, the slave markets of Africa and some of the most charming homes Southern royalty had to offer. In a gripping
From Publishers Weekly The slave trade became illegal in the U.S. All rights reserved. government seized the ship and turned it into a Union gunboat. Originally built as a sugar baron's racing yacht, it was outfitted, as the New York Times reported, for "comfort and luxury." But a trio of greedy proslavery radicals, known as "fire-eaters," transformed her from plaything to slaver: deck planks and inner framing were removed and iron tanks inserted. . In his first book, former Newsweek correspondent Calonius tells the fascinating, heartbreaking
Excellent insight into the causes of the Civil War Let me begin by saying that this is not a book that I would normally have any interest in reading. As a general rule, the topic of slavery is of almost no interest to me, and I tend to avoid the subject due to lack of interest. However, this particular book sounded like it might be interesting, so I decided to read it.Erik Calonius is a career journalist who has had some plum assignments in his journalistic career. The Wanderer is his first book, and he should be very proud of it. The topic got his interest on a visit to Jekyll Island, outside Savannah, Georgia, when he saw an exhibit to the Wander. "The Wanderer Hits Home" according to Patricia L. Cobb. In the book The Wanderer: The Last American Slave Ship and the Conspiracy That Set Its Sails, one is first given a fine portrait of the genteel life of some of the South's more prosperous families. But that picture becomes clouded when business man Charles Lamar of Savannah, Georgia decides to import African slaves long after the trade has been made illegal in the fledgling United States. What ensues are lives turned upside down, deals gone awry, travesties of justice and the underpinnings of secession on the eve of the Civil War.Erik Calonius has done his homework, quoting from articles from paper. "A Forgotten Step Toward the Civil War" according to Rob Hardy. Though it is obvious to us that slavery is unfair and immoral, it was, of course, not obvious to those who had practiced it as a tradition. Changing away from slavery in America was not done all at once, but involved various steps away from the practice. One of these steps was that in 1820 the federal government made illegal the importation of slaves from Africa. Slavery continued, but only from the stock already present (and exports of slaves continued to other places, notably to Cuba). But why should Southern slave owners pay any attention to federal rules? Indeed, as animosity towards the North