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Slavery casts a long shadow over American history; despite the cataclysmic changes of the Civil War and emancipation, the United States carried antebellum notions of slavery into its imperial expansion at the turn of the twentieth-century. African American, Chinese and other immigrant labourers were exploited in the name of domestic economic development, and overseas, local populations were made into colonial subjects of America. How did the U.S. deal with the paradox of presenting itself as a global power which abhorred slavery, while at the same time failing to deal with forced labour at home? Catherine Armstrong argues that this was done with rhetorical manoeuvres around the definition of slavery. Drawing primarily on representations of slavery in American print culture, this study charts how definitions and depictions of slavery both changed and stayed the same as the nation became a prominent actor on the world stage. In doing so, Armstrong challenges the idea that slavery is a merely historical problem, and shows its relevance in the contemporary world.

Forced labor --- Slavery --- Sex discrimination against women. --- Imperialism --- Antislavery movements --- Discrimination against women --- Subordination of women --- Women, Discrimination against --- Feminism --- Sex discrimination --- Women's rights --- Male domination (Social structure) --- Compulsory labor --- Conscript labor --- Labor, Compulsory --- Labor, Forced --- Employees --- Colonialism --- Empires --- Expansion (United States politics) --- Neocolonialism --- Political science --- Anti-imperialist movements --- Caesarism --- Chauvinism and jingoism --- Militarism --- Abolition of slavery --- Antislavery --- Enslavement --- Mui tsai --- Ownership of slaves --- Servitude --- Slave keeping --- Slave system --- Slaveholding --- Thralldom --- Crimes against humanity --- Serfdom --- Slaveholders --- Slaves --- Social aspects --- Moral and ethical aspects --- Moral and ethical aspects. --- History --- Imperialism. --- Underground Railroad