The highest recommendation: Arguing About Slavery

May 10, 2011 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Joshua Thompson

There are very few books that I have found so wonderfully fascinating as the book I am currently reading, Arguing About Slavery: John Quincy Adams and the Great Battle in the United States Congress.  I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about US history, but I must confess I was mostly oblivious to the history surrounding the petition crisis.  But the book is so much more than a historical retelling of forgotten events.  It is the story of an idea, equality under the law, and the struggle for the achievement of that idea in the face of some of the most fierce and evil opposition imaginable.  It was only after I picked up the book that I learned my colleague, Tim Sandefur, has also written about his love for the book. I will write more on the book when I finish, but I can already count it as one of my favorites.  Before you rush out to buy the book, check out Mr. Sandefur's post on John Quincy Adams, the protagonist of this amazing real-life story.