The Harris County Law Library is excited about the latest addition to its HeinOnline subscription database: Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law. Consisting of cases, statutes, scholarly articles and much more, this comprehensive library is a one-stop resource for legal and non-legal materials on slavery. Among the highlights are:
- the complete five-volume set of Judicial Cases Concerning American Slavery and the Negro
- United States Supreme Court cases from 1786-1880
- selected federal cases from the circuit courts
- anti-slavery periodicals covering topics such as abolitionist movements, black authors, colonization, emancipation, and politics
- records of Congressional debates
- slavery statutes from all states
- law review articles and legal commentary
- histories of slavery from UNC Press Publications.
There are also links to external sources and digital collections documenting American slavery from such institutions as the Library of Congress, the Law Library of Congress, and the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
As with the other libraries found on HeinOnline, Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law is fully searchable. Using HeinOnline’s “Slavery Quick Finder,” you can focus your search by selecting position, e.g. anti-slavery or pro-slavery, document type, jurisdiction, and topic. Document types range from biographies and pamphlets to cases and government reports. Jurisdictional choices include not only the United States and Great Britain but also Africa and Haiti. If you’re simply looking to browse the collection, just click on the category tabs at the top of the page.
The next time you’re visiting the Harris County Law Library, be sure to have a look at this historical collection detailing the history of slavery in America and abroad. Just ask a law librarian if you need assistance.
