The Vanishing Slave: Publishing the Narrative of Charles Ball, from Slavery in the United States (1836) to Fifty Years in Chains (1858)
Résumé
This essay examines the publication history of the narrative of Charles Ball. Originally published in 1836 by a small-town newspaper editor, Slavery in the United States had a limited circulation. It was devoid of the abolitionist rhetoric that we see as a defining feature of the slave narrative. Only in 1837 was Slavery in the United States picked up by New York abolitionists, who emphasized its antislavery message and had it circulated through their networks. In 1858, Slavery in the United States was reissued as Fifty Years in Chains by New York publisher H. Dayton, a purveyor of sensation books who rewrote the narrative to make it more sensational. In this essay, I argue that Ball’s narrative was gradually emptied of its substance while reaching an ever-growing audience.