White Freedom: The Racial History of an Idea

by Tyler Stovall

Overview

The racist legacy behind the Western idea of freedom

The era of the Enlightenment, which gave rise to our modern conceptions of freedom and democracy, was also the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. America, a nation founded on the principle of liberty, is also a nation built on African slavery, Native American genocide, and systematic racial discrimination. White Freedom traces the complex relationship between freedom and race from the eighteenth century to today, revealing how being free has meant being white.

Tyler Stovall explores the intertwined histories of racism and freedom in France and the United States, the two leading nations that have claimed liberty as the heart of their national identities. He explores how French and American thinkers defined freedom in racial terms and conceived of liberty as an aspect and privilege of whiteness. He discusses how the Statue of Liberty—a gift from France to the United States and perhaps the most famous symbol of freedom on Earth—promised both freedom and whiteness to European immigrants. Taking readers from the Age of Revolution to today, Stovall challenges the notion that racism is somehow a paradox or contradiction within the democratic tradition, demonstrating how white identity is intrinsic to Western ideas about liberty. Throughout the history of modern Western liberal democracy, freedom has long been white freedom.

A major work of scholarship that is certain to draw a wide readership and transform contemporary debates, White Freedom provides vital new perspectives on the inherent racism behind our most cherished beliefs about freedom, liberty, and human rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691205366
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	01/19/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	440
Sales rank:	45,708
File size:	35 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Tyler Stovall (1954–2021) was professor of history and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University. His books include Transnational France: The Modern History of a Universal Nation, Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light, and The Rise of the Paris Red Belt.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: Freedom and Its Dark Sides 1

Part 1

Chapter 1 Savage Freedom: Piracy, Childhood, and Alternate Racial Visions of Liberty 23

Chapter 2 Lady of Freedom, Lady of Whiteness: The Statue of Liberty as Symbol of White Freedom 59

Part 2

Chapter 3 Black Slavery, White Freedom: Freedom and Race in the Era of Liberal Revolution 99

Chapter 4 Empire, Racial Citizenship, and Liberal Democracy 134

Part 3

Chapter 5 Fighting for Whose Liberty? Freedom and Race in the Era of Total War 185

Chapter 6 Freedom Now? The Fall and Rise of White Freedom during the Cold War 247

Conclusion: White Freedom and Freedom from Whiteness 311

Notes 323

Select Bibliography 391

Index 409

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Ambitious in scope, White Freedom traces the racially selective course of the historic expansion of individual freedom. This is an impressive work of scholarship on an issue of enduring moral and political relevance."—Thomas C. Holt, author of Children of Fire: A History of African Americans

"White Freedom is a well-researched and well-written book that is certain to exert significant influence on historical scholarship and critical racial studies."—George Lipsitz, author of The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics

"Beautifully written and lucidly argued, Tyler Stovall's White Freedom effectively disentangles the idea of freedom from the grip of racialized thinking. Ranging widely across history and geography, Stovall takes the 'white Goddess' of liberty down from her pedestal, with force, erudition, and elegance."—Christopher L. Miller, Yale University

"Powerful and convincing. In this sweeping history of the idea he calls 'white freedom,' Stovall traces the interdependence of these two key terms since the Enlightenment, arguing that Western conceptions of freedom have been enduringly racialized as white."—Jennifer E. Sessions, author of By Sword and Plow: France and the Conquest of Algeria

Editorial Reviews

Shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize, McGill University

"One of NPR's 'Books We Love'"

From the Publisher

2020-09-17
Historical examination of how, since the Enlightenment, ideas of freedom in the U.S. and France have been intertwined with race.

"White freedom,” writes Stovall, a professor of history at Fordham, is "the belief (and practice) that freedom is central to white racial identity, and that only white people can or should be free.” The author tracks this concept in France and the U.S. from the French Revolution and the creation of the U.S. Constitution to the official end of the Cold War, supplementing the historical and political account with relevant material in the areas of art, music, and literature. After opening chapters on pirates and children as examples of "savage freedom" in literature and law—as well as the changing interpretations of the meaning of the Statue of Liberty, from anti-slavery to pro-immigration—Stovall moves chronologically, covering ideas of White freedom implicit in the American, French, and Haitian revolutions; industrialization, imperialism, and modernity; and the world wars. In his intellectual archaeology, the author neither excuses nor cancels historical racism. The author concludes with challenges to White freedom in the name of "universal freedom," including anti-colonial struggles, feminism, and the civil rights movement. While noting that these movements have not completely triumphed, they have successfully reoriented the debate from challenging White freedom to fulfilling the promise of universal freedom. The international and Francophone orientation is distinctive among progressive histories and Whiteness studies. Although academically grounded, the author avoids extended disputes with other scholars. Each chapter has a preface and conclusion, as does the book itself, so Stovall often announces his intentions and the completion of each intention. This structure may put off some nonscholarly readers, but the frame successfully holds together a complex argument and a wide range of sources and examples, from Rousseau and The Magic Flute to Trump and Brexit.

This cogent study of ideas of race and freedom has added relevance and crossover potential in today’s political landscape.

Kirkus Reviews