A Madman's Will

John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom

17 January 2025

Territory Rights — Worldwide.

Description

The untold saga of John Randolph’s 383 slaves, freed in his much-contested will of 1821, finally comes to light

Few legal cases in American history are as riveting as the controversy surrounding the will of Virginia Senator John Randolph (1773–1833), which—almost inexplicably—freed all 383 of his slaves in one of the largest and most publicised manumissions in American history. So famous is the case that Ta-Nehisi Coates has used it to condemn Randolph’s cousin, Thomas Jefferson, for failing to free his own slaves. With this ground-breaking investigation, historian Gregory May now reveals a more surprising story, showing how madness and scandal shaped John Randolph’s wildly shifting attitudes toward his slaves—and how endemic prejudice in the North ultimately deprived the freedmen of the land Randolph had promised them. Sweeping from the legal spectacle of the contested will through the freedmen’s dramatic flight and horrific reception in Ohio, A Madman’s Will is an extraordinary saga about the alluring promise of freedom and its tragic limitations.

Reviews

"In 1833, the Virginia congressman John Randolph freed his nearly four hundred slaves while on his deathbed. This detailed history untangles the much publicised legal dispute that ensued... May cautions against ascribing honourable motives to Randolph, and stresses that those he freed continued to face prejudice and violence in the North." — The New Yorker

"Eye-opening and vigorously researched... May cogently reveals how white supremacy was not restricted to the South but permeated the nation, depicting a culture of fear and resentment around free Black settlement... Ultimately, May shows how such deprivations have lasting, generational consequences, illuminating inequities that persits to this day. " — Ilyon Woo, The New York Times Book Review

"[E]nlightening, suspenseful... Mr. May, a lawyer turned historian, dexterously describes the court hearings, appeals and suits over Randolph’s will... a compelling case history of the complexities of enslavement and emancipation in the young American nation." — David S Reynolds, The Wall Street Journal

Paperback

9781324095620

140 x 211 mm • 416 pages

£17.99

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Ebook

9781324092223

£23.99

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