{"product_id":"the-internal-enemy-slavery-and-war-in-virginia-17721832-9780393073713","title":"The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia  17721832","description":"\u003cp\u003eWinner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for History  This searing story of slavery and freedom in the Chesapeake by a Pulitzer Prizewinning historian reveals the pivot in the nations path between the founding and civil war. Frederick Douglass recalled that slaves living along Chesapeake Bay longingly viewed sailing ships as \"freedoms swift-winged angels.\" In 1813 those angels appeared in the bay as British warships coming to punish the Americans for declaring war on the empire. Over many nights  hundreds of slaves paddled out to the warships seeking protection for their families from the ravages of slavery. The runaways pressured the British admirals into becoming liberators. As guides  pilots  sailors  and marines  the former slaves used their intimate knowledge of the countryside to transform the war. They enabled the British to escalate their onshore attacks and to capture and burn Washington  D.C. Tidewater masters had long dreaded their slaves as \"an internal enemy.\" By mobilizing that enemy  the war ignited the deepest fears of Chesapeake slaveholders. It also alienated Virginians from a national government that had neglected their defense. Instead they turned south  their interests aligning more and more with their section. In 1820 Thomas Jefferson observed of sectionalism: \"Like a firebell in the night it awakened and filled me with terror. I considered it at once the knell of the union.\" The notes of alarm in Jeffersons comment speak of the fear aroused by the recent crisis over slavery in his home state. His vision of a cataclysm to come proved prescient. Jeffersons startling observation registered a turn in the nations course  a pivot from the national purpose of the founding toward the threat of disunion. Drawn from new sources  Alan Taylors riveting narrative re-creates the events that inspired black Virginians  haunted slaveholders  and set the nation on a new and dangerous course. 35 illustrations; 4 maps\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647976038453,"sku":"ByrdShop_0393073718","price":23.42,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780393073713.jpg?v=1781700417","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-internal-enemy-slavery-and-war-in-virginia-17721832-9780393073713","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}