Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education
  • Home
  • About
    • Latest News
    • Leadership
    • Our Partners
    • Parking and Directions
    • News Archives
  • Education
    • Educational Resources
    • Internship Program
    • People Powered
  • Research
    • Congressional Collections >
      • Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Sr. Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Jr. Congressional Papers
      • Scot Faulkner CAO Papers
      • Alan B. Mollohan Congressional Papers
    • Digital Collections
    • Byrd's-Eye View
    • Plan a Visit to the Archives
    • Collecting Policy
    • Oral History Project
    • Share Your Story!
    • Blog
  • Events
    • Constitution Day
    • Past Events >
      • Kate Masur 10/8
      • Nancy Spannaus 11/20
      • Tom Barkin 10/24
      • Constitution Day 2024 9/18
      • Mountain Music at the Mill 8/24
      • The Fiddlin' Bobby Byrd, Mountain Musician with Adam Booth 5/9
      • Beto O'Rourke 3/3&4
      • An Evening of WV Stories with Adam Booth 2/22
      • Niagara Movement Film 2/8
      • Voices of the Community Series 2023
      • Summer Fundraiser 2023
      • Constitution Day 2023
      • The Arc of Power
      • Forum on Pollution
      • Formidable - author event
      • Constitution Day 2022
  • Support Us
    • Friends of the Byrd Center
    • Name a Seat
  • Reservations
  • Login
  • WV Civics Coalition

Nancy Spannaus

November 20, 2024
The Byrd Center Presents an Author Talk with Nancy Spannaus

Defeating Slavery: Hamilton's American System Showed the Way
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
​7pm Byrd Auditorium

The revolutionary British American colonies and the young United States were the centers of the most vigorous anti-slavery activity in the world. Yet, chattel slavery persisted well into the 19th century and eventually was the major cause of a bloody Civil War, whose consequences still shape American politics today. Why did this happen?  Could it have been prevented?

In her just-released book, Defeating Slavery: Hamilton’s American System Showed the Way, public historian Nancy Spannaus argues that the crucial factor was the abandonment of the economic principles of Alexander Hamilton. ​
Picture
“As the United States prepares to commemorate its 250th birthday, I hope this book will play a critical role in addressing our nation’s experience with slavery, and even our sense of national identity,” Spannaus said. She elaborated: 
“Defeating Slavery takes on two of today’s prevalent assertions about slavery. First, I challenge the current popular insistence that the commitment to slavery was integral to American identity. I document the depth and pre-eminence of the American anti-slavery movement, starting in the 18th century and growing to a peak during the Revolutionary era. The fight against slavery by persons of all races was integral to our Revolution, and never died. 

“Second, I counter the idea that the extraordinary economic progress of the United States was based on the wealth allegedly created by the slave economy. As the advocates of Hamilton’s economic system insisted, our prosperity depended upon freeing ourselves from economic colonialism. The advances in our economy occurred despite the continuation of chattel slavery, which was a source of backwardness and impoverishment.”

It was the sabotage of Hamilton’s economic principles, especially in the Andrew Jackson administration, that made the Civil War necessary in order to end the scourge of slavery, Spannaus argues.

Nancy Bradeen Spannaus started studying Alexander Hamilton in the mid-1970s. In 1977 she co-edited a book of writings on the economics of the American Revolution (The Political Economy of the American Revolution, available on Amazon), in which major excerpts from Hamilton’s major financial papers were featured. 

After a career in political journalism, Nancy intensified her studies of Hamilton’s American System. In 2017 she set up the blog American System Now, which serves as a resource on the history of the American System, and comments on current events in that light. A special feature is Hamilton's actual record in fighting to abolish slavery! The blog currently features more than 600 articles on American System figures such as Mathew Carey, Henry Carey, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 

While applauding Ron Chernow's comprehensive biography, Nancy saw the need for a sharp focus on Hamilton's economics, especially his Report on Manufactures. And Miranda's Hamilton Musical created a new surge of interest. Thus, my book Hamilton Versus Wall Street. 

Now I have followed up that volume with one on how Hamilton's economic policy of industrialization was essential in order for the young American republic to eliminate slavery without a Civil War. America had a strong anti-slavery movement, but the sabotage of Hamilton's system undercut it. This is history Americans need to know to resolve our crises today. 

Nancy has deep New England and Revolutionary roots. She was born in Portland, Maine in 1943, of parents who both were descended from American patriots. She is a member of the DAR and of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society. She and her husband Ed live in northern Virginia, where they both indulge in as much history as possible. 
Picture
213 North King Street
PO Box 5000
Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, WV 25443
(304) 876 - 5701

Our Mission:

The Byrd Center advances representative democracy by promoting a better understanding of the United States Congress and the Constitution through programs and research that engage citizens.
Copyright © Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education
  • Home
  • About
    • Latest News
    • Leadership
    • Our Partners
    • Parking and Directions
    • News Archives
  • Education
    • Educational Resources
    • Internship Program
    • People Powered
  • Research
    • Congressional Collections >
      • Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Sr. Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Jr. Congressional Papers
      • Scot Faulkner CAO Papers
      • Alan B. Mollohan Congressional Papers
    • Digital Collections
    • Byrd's-Eye View
    • Plan a Visit to the Archives
    • Collecting Policy
    • Oral History Project
    • Share Your Story!
    • Blog
  • Events
    • Constitution Day
    • Past Events >
      • Kate Masur 10/8
      • Nancy Spannaus 11/20
      • Tom Barkin 10/24
      • Constitution Day 2024 9/18
      • Mountain Music at the Mill 8/24
      • The Fiddlin' Bobby Byrd, Mountain Musician with Adam Booth 5/9
      • Beto O'Rourke 3/3&4
      • An Evening of WV Stories with Adam Booth 2/22
      • Niagara Movement Film 2/8
      • Voices of the Community Series 2023
      • Summer Fundraiser 2023
      • Constitution Day 2023
      • The Arc of Power
      • Forum on Pollution
      • Formidable - author event
      • Constitution Day 2022
  • Support Us
    • Friends of the Byrd Center
    • Name a Seat
  • Reservations
  • Login
  • WV Civics Coalition