“Against slavery’s millennia, the struggle to abolish it came abruptly. By the end of the succeeding century, against slavery’s immense and unyielding power, it had largely succeeded. As a spiritual as well as political endeavor, it is one of the most, if not the most astonishing unfolding of the unforeseen in all of recorded human history. Yet it is too often at best consigned to the inevitable, as something that was bound to happen as if in the natural unfolding of progress. At worst, it is pushed to the margins, as if slavery’s abolition came about without abolitionists, without politics, let alone without rebellious slaves—the byproduct, as some accounts say, of impersonal, amoral economic forces, or the unintended outcome of white people’s selfish squabbles over policy and profits, or even as an accident.” (Wilentz, 2019, p.3)
His point is that is was unpredicted at the time. “…it is one of the most, if not the most astonishing unfolding of the unforeseen in all of recorded human history”
He says that in the context of all of human history, from the bible to the U.S. civil war, “it came abruptly.”
He says that it is a mistake to think that historical event of abolition of slavery was inevitable. For the most part the rejection of slavery was accomplished by the end of the 1800s–racism still exists, but slavery is considered by the vast majority of the population to be unacceptable.
I was really confused at a moment while reading Wilentz about abolishing slavery, and I thought he said that doing it was inevitable like it had to happen sooner or later until you point it out again. Now, it makes sense and it is clear that for him, abolishing slavery was not expected, but it came abruptly and surprised everyone. The southern states never thought that abolishing slavery would take place one day, they got surprised and declared the war in order to ensure the institution of slavery. That is why Wilentz insisted with his concept of relentless unforeseen, which means that we never know what would happen in the future as we fight to achieve goals that we believe are right and just, so we must be prepared for it.
Exactly.