Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Jews and the American Slave Trade

Piotrus:


'''''Jews and the American Slave Trade''''' is a 1998 book by American historian [[Saul S. Friedman]]. It focuses on the Jewish involvement in the [[Slavery in the United States|American slave trade]] and is a polemical rebuttal against the 1991 work ''[[The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews|The Secret Relationship between Blacks and Jew]]''.

== Structure ==
The book is composed of seventeen chapters. In the first six, Friedman describes the [[history of slavery]] worldwide and then in later chapters he focuses on the [[slavery in the United States]].<ref name=":0">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":1">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":2">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

== Reviews and reception ==
[[Leonard Dinnerstein]] in his review of the book in the ''[[The American Historical Review]]'' (1999) noted that the book is intended to refute the claims presented in the ''[[The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews|The Secret Relationship between Blacks and Jew]]'' (a 1991 work by the [[Nation of Islam]]) which claimed that Jews dominated the [[African Slave Trade|African slave trade]]. Friedman work is to a major degree a point by point rebuttal of the 1981 book which the author describes as "one part fact and nine parts fable". Friedman notes that while there were Jewish slave traders and slave owners, they were a minority.<ref name=":0" />

[[Joseph C. Miller]] also reviewed the book that year in ''[[The Journal of American History]]''. Likewise, he agrees that Friedman work successfully debunks the 1981 book by the Nation of Islam, which he referred to as book of "malicious allegations", and notes that Friedman himself described that work as a "Handbook of Hate" (title of his first chapter). Miler notes that Friedman assessment of Jews among those associated with slavery constituted only a "tiny presence". Miller also notes that the according to Friedman, the 1991 book his work is in polemic with can be seen as an example of [[antisemitism]] found in the [[Afrocentrism]] movement. Overall, Miller concludes that the Friedman's book is a worthy effort, but is unlikely to have significant impact due to its focus on the academic audiences rather than general public. He also notes that the book topic is relevant to the topics discussed in contemporary American politics.<ref name=":1" />

In 2000 the book was also reviewed by [[Patrick Manning (professor)|Patrick Manning]] in ''[[Shofar (journal)|Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies]]''. He concurs with the previous reviewers, nothing that Friedman "has succeeded..., in refuting the strongest forms of the assertions of Jewish dominance of the institutions of slavery". He also notes that the book is a valuable contribution to the American public debates "between blacks and Jews".<ref name=":2" />

== References ==


[[Category:1998 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Books about African-American history]]
[[Category:History books about Jews and Judaism]]
[[Category:Judaism and slavery]]
[[Category:African American–Jewish relations]]
[[Category:Non-fiction books about slavery]]


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