By attacking slavery more fiercely than ever before, Revolutionary Americans freed tens of thousands of slaves. But the Revolution’s libertarian and egalitarian message had perverse consequences. It forced those Southerners who chose to retain slavery to fall back on the alleged racial deficiencies of blacks as a justification for an institution that hitherto they had taken for granted and had never before needed to justify. The anti-slavery movement that arose out of the Revolution inadvertently produced racism in America.
John Vanderlyn (1775—1852)
Oil on Canvas; 25 1/4 x 20 7/8 in. (64.1 x 53 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
Oil on canvas; 36 7/8 x 28 1/8 in. (93.7 x 71.4 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
Oil on canvas. New-York Historical Society, New York, NY.
Oil on canvas. New York Historical Society, New York, NY.
Daughter (1783—1813) of Aaron Burr.
Oil on wood panel; 10 x 8 in ( 25.4 x 20.3 cm). New-York Historical Society, New York, NY.
Oil on canvas; 46 1/4 x 35 1/4 in ( 117.5 x 89.5 cm). New-York Historical Society, New York, NY.
Oil on canvas. The White House Collection, Washington, DC.
Oil on canvas. The White House Historical Collection, White House Blue Room, Washington, DC.
Oil on canvas. National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian), Washington, DC.
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 (2009)