Episode 135: Julie Holcomb, Moral Commerce: The Transatlantic Boycott of the Slave Labor Economy

by Liz CovartMay 23, 2017

Play episode

If early Americans desired slaves mostly to produce sugarcane, cotton, rice, indigo, and tobacco, what would happen if Europeans and early Americans stopped purchasing those products?

Would boycotting slave-produced goods and starving slavery of its economic sustenance be enough to end the practice of slavery in North America?

Julie Holcomb, an Associate Professor of Museum Studies at Baylor University and author of Moral Commerce: The Transatlantic Boycott of the Slave Labor Economy, helps us explore answers to these questions by leading us through the transatlantic boycott of slave produced goods.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Episode Summary

Julie Holcomb, an Associate Professor of Museum Studies at Baylor University and author of Moral Commerce: The Transatlantic Boycott of the Slave Labor Economy helps us explore the transatlantic boycott of slave produced goods during the 18th and 19th centuries.

During our conversation, Julie reveals information about the transatlantic boycott of slave labor goods; Details about Quakerism and why the boycott of slave labor goods started with Quakers; And what impact the boycott of slave labor goods had on the quest to end slavery in the United States.

What You’ll Discover

The Transatlantic boycott of slave labor goods
Quakerism and origins of Quakers’ antislavery views
How and why Quakers originated the abstention movement
The transatlantic tea and sugar boycott of the 1790s
The 19th-century free produce movement
How the free produce movement differed from the abstention movement
The Second Great Awakening and the free produce movement
Whether the free produce movement impacted the business of slavery
How the free produce movement intersected with the anti-slavery and abolition movements
The impact of the free produce and abstention movements

Links to People, Places, and Publications

Julie Holcomb
Julie’s Baylor University webpage
Julie’s LinkedIn
Julie on Academia.edu
Moral Commerce: The Transatlantic Boycott of the Slave Labor Economy
Christopher Leslie Brown, Moral Capital: Foundations of British Abolitionism

Sponsor Links

Complementary Episodes

Time Warp Question

In your opinion, what might have happened if the abstention and free produce movements hadn’t started with the Quakers? If the movement had had a more mainstream start, do you think it would have been more successful? 