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Sean Wilentz

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No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding
Sean Wilentz
2019
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Related Excerpts

The 1619 Project and the Work of the Historian

Sean Wilentz wrote a piece opposing the New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project, but his use of Revolutionary-era newspapers as sources is flawed.
by Joseph M. Adelman via The Junto on January 23, 2020

The Political Odyssey of Sean Wilentz

How one of America's original Bernie Bros became an outspoken critic of the left.
by Timothy Shenk via The Nation
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on May 20, 2019
Enslaved Africans on a dock, having disembarked a ship guarded by their captors.

Looking Back at 1619 in 2019–2021, and Beyond

1619 Project reignited debate over slavery’s origins, exposing tensions between continuity vs change in U.S. history and competing “origin stories.”
by David Waldstreicher via Reviews In American History
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on March 16, 2026

How the 1619 Project Took Over 2020

It’s a hashtag, a talking point, a Trump rally riff. The inside story of a New York Times project that launched a year-long culture war.
by Sarah Ellison via Washington Post
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on October 13, 2020

I Helped Fact-Check the 1619 Project. The Times Ignored Me.

The paper’s series on slavery made avoidable mistakes. But the attacks from its critics are much more dangerous.
by Leslie M. Harris via Politico Magazine on March 6, 2020
Slave shackles.

The Hidden Stakes of the 1619 Controversy

Critics of the New York Times’s 1619 Project obscure a longstanding debate among historians over whether the American Revolution was a proslavery revolt.
by David Waldstreicher via Boston Review on January 24, 2020

The Fight Over the 1619 Project Is Not About the Facts

A dispute between some scholars and the authors of NYT Magazine’s issue on slavery represents a fundamental disagreement over the trajectory of U.S. society.
by Adam Serwer via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on December 23, 2019
Painting by Titus Kaphar entitled "Page 4 of Jefferson’s ‘Farm Book"

How Proslavery Was the Constitution?

A review of a book by Sean Wilentz's "No Property in Man," which argues that the document is full of anti-slavery language.
by Nicholas Guyatt via New York Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on June 2, 2019
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James Madison Responds to Sean Wilentz

Madison's Notes of the Constitutional Convention answer a current argument on the Electoral College.
by Alan J. Singer via HNN on April 7, 2019
Portrait of George Washington, surrounded by portraits of other important founders.

The Real Authors of the Founding

Americans must live up to “the words that made us.”
by Brenda M. Hafera via Modern Age
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on June 5, 2026
Collage of Hamilton and Slam Frank the musical.

History Has Its Eyes on You

Slam Frank and musical theater’s Hamilton bind.
by Emma Adler via The Drift
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on April 21, 2026
Drawing of the Constitutional Convention, by John W. Winkler.
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Strange Political Bedfellows

The origins of the Electoral College are entwined with slavery, but not in the way that recent accounts have suggested.
by Mark McKibbin, Denver Brunsman via HNN on October 9, 2024
Person sitting on couch watching the news.

Is the Age of the Resistance Historian Coming to an End?

People who study the past don’t always have special insight into politics. Recent events have made that crystal clear.
by William Hogeland via Slate
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on July 11, 2024
Richard Slotkin.

“A Theory of America”: Mythmaking with Richard Slotkin

"I was always working on a theory of America."
by Kathleen Belew, Richard S. Slotkin via Public Books on April 19, 2024
Portrait of Stephen Hopkins.

Teaching the Story of “Universal Liberty” in Revolutionary Rhode Island

Revolutionary ideals of liberty exposed the hypocrisy of slavery, sparking early antislavery movements.
by Erik J. Chaput via The Online Review of Rhode Island History on May 13, 2023
Manifest Destiny painting by Emanuel Leutze

No, Liberal Historians Can’t Tame Nationalism

Historians should reject nationalism and help readers to avoid its dangers.
by Eran A. Zelnik via The Activist History Review on November 8, 2022
Artistic collage of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.

Was Emancipation Constitutional?

Did the Confederacy have a constitutional right to secede? And did Lincoln violate the Constitution in forcing them back into the Union and freeing the slaves?
by James Oakes via New York Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on April 20, 2022
Photo illustration of two hands pulling New York Times Magazine article

The Historians Are Fighting

Inside the profession, the battle over the 1619 Project continues.
by William Hogeland via Slate
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on October 30, 2021
Painting of Lincoln and his cabinet by M.S. Carpenter, 1863.

Did the Constitution Pave the Way to Emancipation?

In his new book, "The Crooked Path to Abolition," James Oakes argues that the Constitution was an antislavery document.
by Richard Kreitner via The Nation
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on October 6, 2021
‘The Proposed Emigrant Dumping Site’; cartoon by Victor Gillam from Judge magazine, March 22, 1890

Whose Freedom?

On the ways that people have conflated freedom with whiteness but pays too little attention to the force of freedom as a concept.
by David A. Bell via New York Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on September 2, 2021
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