J.P. Brissot de Warville

J.P. Brissot de Warville published his New Travels in the United States in 1791, a time when he was fighting the dangerous battles of the French Revolution as a leader of the Girondin party. Like many other revolutionary leaders, de Warville took inspiration from the American colonists' successful fight for independence from England. But he also found a lesson to be drawn in the institution of slavery, which in his eyes degraded not only the slaves but also their owners. The principle of universal human liberty seemed to be reinforced by the native abilities of American slaves, who he found quite capable of the intellect and brilliance many whites and Europeans habitually reserved for other humans of their own color.

The French Revolution ended unhappily for de Warville and many others, however, as two years after his book appeared the...