1829

David Walker publishes his Appeal against slavery and racial exclusion

Boston, Massachusetts; circulation through Black networks

David Walker’s Appeal called on Black people to resist slavery and challenged claims of white superiority. Black sailors and other readers helped circulate it beyond Boston, alarming slaveholders.

Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.

Context / qualification

1829 dates publication, not Walker’s arrival in Boston. His call for resistance should not be reduced to a single prescribed tactic; claims that he was murdered are not established here.

Sources

• Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, chapter 9, pp. 180–181; supplied print pages, edition/year unidentified
• National Park Service: David Walker ↗

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