Date of Graduation
5-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
History
Advisor/Mentor
Woods, Randall
Committee Member/Reader
Banton, Caree
Committee Member/Second Reader
Ryan, Jeffrey
Committee Member/Third Reader
Brown, Lucy
Abstract
For centuries, western observers had looked to Russia and seen a place fundamentally different from their home countries. In their accounts, Russia was distinctly oppressive, a state characterized by tyranny, barbarism, and Mongolian influence. But these accounts were faulty. They were written by merchants, diplomats, and explorers, wealthy white men who had never experienced the kind of repression they witnessed in Russia. When Black Americans looked to Russia, however, they saw a place fundamentally similar to the United States. Both countries were large, multiethnic empires driven by territorial acquisition and fueled by forced labor. By tracing the coverage of Russia in the Black press from 1827 to 1917, this paper argues that the connections between slavery and serfdom drove Black attitudes toward late Imperial Russia, making Black accounts of Russia reflective of circumstances in the United States, Russia, and the Black press itself.
Keywords
Newspapers, Russia, Abolition, Serfdom, Slavery, Black History
Citation
Pierce, B. (2024). The Black Press and Late Imperial Russia. History Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/histuht/16
Included in
African American Studies Commons, American Material Culture Commons, Cultural History Commons, Diplomatic History Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Other History Commons, Political History Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons