Picture of Slavery in the United States of America: 1834

First published in 1834, George Bourne’s Picture of Slavery in the United States of America stands as one of the earliest and most impassioned abolitionist exposés of the brutality, hypocrisy, and moral corruption of slavery in the antebellum South.

A minister and reformer, Bourne witnessed firsthand the cruelty inflicted upon the enslaved and the moral decay it bred within the institutions that defended it. In these pages, he lays bare the violence, exploitation, and degradation inherent in the slave system—drawing upon testimony, observation, and moral conviction to indict a nation that proclaimed liberty while perpetuating bondage. His tone is both prophetic and uncompromising, aimed at awakening the conscience of a sleeping republic.

Part eyewitness report, part moral treatise, Picture of Slavery in the United States of America remains a cornerstone of abolitionist literature and human rights advocacy, offering a searing vision of the cost of oppression and the courage required to confront it.

Complete and unabridged edition of George Bourne’s 1834 abolitionist classic

Authentic 19th-century account of American slavery, morality, and reform

A vital primary source for students of abolition, civil rights, and early American social movements

Essential reading for collectors of humanitarian literature, political history, and Americana