The International Dimension of Freedom: Revisiting Black Grassroots Activism during US Reconstruction

Abstract: This essay argues that many African Americans considered the extension of abolition-democracy throughout the Caribbean to be both a moral imperative and an essential correlate of meaningful domestic freedom. During Reconstruction, they were able to take advantage of revolutionary circumstances to press their claims. They sought to leverage their newfound political power to direct US foreign policy—including the US military—to extend abolition-democracy throughout the Caribbean. Their activism, focused on securing independence for the Cuban Republic, took place through a set of institutions and practices including the Union League, petition drives, legislative proposals, mass assemblies, and political conventions. This grassroots movement collapsed only in the face of sustained opposition from racist Republican elites. This defeat paved the way for the emergence of a new strain of African American internationalism that accommodated and occasionally endorsed US imperialism—although a widespread opposition to US overseas empire endured.