The Science of Abolition

“Herschthal documents the role of science in undermining slavery, even as scientific racism affirmed Black inferiority and slaveholders demonstrated a remarkable capacity to modernize coerced labor.”—E. R. Crowther, Choice

“A smart, wide-ranging and learned book which will reshape our understanding of science’s role in the international movement against slavery.”—Nicholas Guyatt, University of Cambridge

“While recent historical literature has shown the complicity of the early science of man in the defense of slavery, Herschthal unearths an equally long intellectual tradition of antislavery science. This innovative book is timely, when science itself is under assault.”—Manisha Sinha, author of The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition

“A brilliantly written and engaging text that succeeds in complicating how prominently science was featured in the writings and lives of both abolitionists and pro-slavery advocates. Herschthal deftly centers black thinkers and leaders as they engaged with how science and scientific thinking could be utilized radically to help dismantle slavery.”—Deirdre Cooper Owens, author of Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology