{"product_id":"a-frail-liberty-9781496227294","title":"A Frail Liberty","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Frail Liberty\u003c\/i\u003e traces the paradoxical actions of the first French abolitionist society, the Société des Amis des Noirs (Society of the Friends of Blacks), at the juncture of two unprecedented achievements of the revolutionary era: the extension of full rights of citizenship to qualifying free men of color in 1792 and the emancipation decree of 1794 that simultaneously declared the formerly enslaved to be citizens of France. This society helped form the revolution’s notion of color-blind equality yet did not protest the pro-slavery attack on the new citizens of France. Tessie P. Liu prioritizes the understanding of the elite insiders’ vision of equality as crucial to understanding this dualism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e By documenting the link between outright exclusion and political inclusion and emphasizing that a nation’s perceived qualifications for citizenship formulate a particular conception of racial equality, Liu argues that the treatment and status di\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In this provocative study, Tessie P. Liu raises important and uncomfortable questions about the nexus of race and citizenship during the French and Haitian Revolutions.\"—Lauren R. Clay, \u003ci\u003eH-France Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Richly documented and thoroughly researched, this volume will bring together seasoned scholars and students of French colonial history and postcolonial studies, as well as historians of the Atlantic world.\"—Hélène B. Ducros, \u003ci\u003eEuropeNow\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This work is important for several reasons: It further complicates our understanding of republican citizenship in revolutionary France by focusing on colonialism, race, and merit. Second, in citing Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Tessie P. Liu highlights the role of the colonies in shaping metropolitan discourse. Third, she elevates the importance of the passive citizen to examine universality and merit. Liu also highlights the role that Amis des Noirs played in framing political debates, even if they were not often successful in their pursuits. Their credit is much deserved and well overdue.”—Erica Johnson Edwards, author of \u003ci\u003ePhilanthropy and Race in the Haitian Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Tessie P. Liu brings new insights to two major events in French and world history, the French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution, and uses these histories to explore broader questions of democracy, political representation, and race. Moreover, Liu uses colonial history to illustrate and ultimately reshape how we see the history of metropolitan France. This is an outstanding work of scholarship: original, thought provoking, thoroughly researched, and well argued.”—Tyler Stovall, coeditor of \u003ci\u003eThe Black Populations of France: Histories from Metropole to Colony\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Introduction: The Alchemy of Merit\u003cbr\u003e 1. Sympathy Ink: Staging Humanity in a Revolutionary Empire\u003cbr\u003e 2. An Ebullient Summer: The Amis des Noirs Organize to Fight the Slave Trade\u003cbr\u003e 3. Children of a Common Father: Free People of Color as Objects of Sympathy\u003cbr\u003e 4. Who Belongs as Citizens? The Antinomies of Rights and Freedom\u003cbr\u003e 5. Facing Insurrection: Free Colored Rights or Emancipation\u003cbr\u003e 6. “What Kind of Free Is This?” Probationary Citizens and the Dilemmas of General Liberty\u003cbr\u003e 7. Can the Old Colonies Be Saved? “Disfigured Slaves” and the New Abolitionism\u003cbr\u003e 8. The Hermeneutics of Freedom and Violence: Justifying Slavery after Emancipation\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion: The Allure and Tragedy of Meritorious Belonging\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue: Forgotten Promises of Representative Democracy\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49409236566359,"sku":"9781496227294","price":48.6,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781496227294.jpg?v=1730506084","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/a-frail-liberty-9781496227294","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}