Based on the Harvard thesis of DuBois-one of the great black intellectuals of American history-and incorporating analyses of national, state, and colonial statues, Congressional documents, personal narratives, and other foundational sources, this essential work of African-American history examines the prosecution of slavery laws in the early colonies in North America and explores the moral, political, and economical ramifications of the slave trade and its opposition. Topics covered include: . the Revolutionary period . the Federal Convention of 1787 . Toussaint L'Ouverture and the antislavery efforts of 1787 to 1807 . the international slave trade . the rise of the cotton kingdom from 1820 to 1850 . the Civil War era . and more This study of the slave-trade laws remains a vital resource for students of early America. American writer, civil rights activist, and scholar WILLIAM EEDWARD BURGHARDT DUBOIS (1868-1963) was the first black man to receive a PhD from Harvard University. A cofounder of the NAACP, he wrote a number of important books, including The Philadelphia Negro (1899), Black Folk, Then and Now (1899), and The Negro (1915).