Lydia Maria Child: An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans

The daughter of white Massachusetts abolitionists, Lydia Maria Child deepened her commitment to the elimination of slavery upon making the acquaintance of famed abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison in 1831. Already a successful and esteemed author of historical novels, Child drew upon her writing skills to better educate the northern population about the evils of slavery and further the cause of abolition. To this end, in 1833 she produced An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans, her most well-known work, which serves as both a history of slavery in America and a fierce condemnation of it. Reflecting the outlook of Garrison, the book calls for the immediate cessation of slavery rather than a gradual one, as recommended by more cautious abolitionists.