This Accursed Thing Slavery

Abstract

In 1844, seventeen-year-old Wesley Harlan, Agnes Harlan’s son, writes to Ben Major and pens one of the most moving passages in the Major collection of letters. “I hope the United States are almost giving up the habit of slaveholding . . . I am ashamed of the U States or that part that indulges in this accursed thing slavery. . . .” This chapter explores the continuing slave trade and ongoing attempts to halt it along the West African coast. Wesley Harlan’s letter provides an overview of the governing structure of Liberia and its economy.