Smoke, Mirrors, and Chains: America’s First Continuing Criminal Enterprise
Blacks born in colonial America were Englishmen with an inalienable right to liberty under Britain’s rule of law and those who purported to…
King’s Native Sons: Lies, Legacies, Lessons
Chattel slavery in colonial America was an attack upon dynastic rule. The shot heard around the world was not a musket shot fired…
Tying the Knot
Uncover the criminal origins of slavery in the U.S. at the Ida B. Wells Center, exploring how corrupt colonial practices defied British law.
How it Impacts
Explore how the Declaratory Act of 1766 nullified colonial slave laws, redefining the legal and historical understanding of slavery in the U.S.
Why Everything Changed
Learn how slavery in the U.S. was rooted in corrupt colonial practices, challenging its legality under British law and reshaping historical narratives.
The Who Behind it All
Discover Elizabeth Key’s 17th-century legal battle in Virginia, challenging hereditary slavery by asserting rights under English common law.
The Whatsoever
Explore how the Declaratory Act of 1766 asserted British legislative authority over American colonies, nullifying conflicting colonial laws and fueling revolutionary sentiments.
The What Behind it All
Explore how English common law deemed slavery illegal in American colonies, challenging the legitimacy of colonial slave codes.
For American racism, slavery was only the beginning
Ending our fixation on slavery and focusing on what happened next could help us move on from the argument that racism in America…
Radical history
“The thesis that U.S. slavery was not legal creates cultural and cognitive dissonance—it necessitates a rewriting of America’s historiography,” Alexander says. “This has radical implications for academia.”