Dr. Edward Baptist

Biography

I focus on the history of the 19th-century United States, particularly the history of enslavement of African Americans in the South. My research explores the expansion of slavery in the United States and the writing of the Constitution in 1787, as well as the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 and its enormous consequences for Americans. Indeed, the expansion of slavery shaped various elements of the modern world we live in today. I am currently writing a book that examines the experiences of slave trades and forced migrations that drove this expansion, including the systems of labor that emerged and the economic, political, and cultural consequences for women, men, and children.

Research Interests