The Contested Reception of Herodotus’s History in American Antebellum Slavery Debates

This article recovers ways in which nineteenth-century political actors incorporated key ancient texts into their public discourse by analyzing the contested reception of Herodotus’s History in American antebellum slavery debates. It explicates both the extent of their reception of Herodotus’s History and assesses whether their use of that ancient text was compelling or exhibited scholarly sensitivity. Special attention is given to the various ways Herodotus’s name was affixed to both noble and noxious nineteenth-century political causes and how the text of Herodotus’s History was utilized to think through or clarify contemporary political issues such as racial equality, human dignity, and the justice or injustice of slavery. Ultimately, this paper suggests that the arguments of nineteenth-century abolitionists exhibited far more textual nuance, depth, and sophistication than those of their pro-slavery counterparts, and that the abolitionists’ approach offers a valuable case study that can illuminate ongoing textual complexities today.