02253cam a2200361 i 4500 656420073 TxAuBib 20230510120000.0 230213s2023||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 9781324092216 HRD 30.00 1324092211 HRD 30.00 TxAuBib rda May, Gregory. A madman's will [BOOK] : John Randolph, 400 slaves, and the mirage of freedom / Gregory May. John Randolph, four hundred slaves, and the mirage of freedom. First edition. New York, NY : Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2023. xxiii, 382 pages : illustrations, genealogical table, maps, portraits ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references and index. Few legal cases in American history are as riveting as the controversy surrounding the will of Virginia Senator John Randolph (1773–1833), which―almost inexplicably―freed all 383 of his slaves in one of the largest and most publicized manumissions in American history. So famous is the case that Ta-Nehisi Coates has used it to condemn Randolph’s cousin, Thomas Jefferson, for failing to free his own slaves. With this groundbreaking investigation, historian Gregory May now reveals a more surprising story, showing how madness and scandal shaped John Randolph’s wildly shifting attitudes toward his slaves―and how endemic prejudice in the North ultimately deprived the freedmen of the land Randolph had promised them. Provided by publisher. 20230510. Randolph, John 1773-1833 Will. Randolph, John 1773-1833 Estate. African Americans Ohio History. Freed persons Ohio History. Freed persons Legal status, laws, etc Ohio History 19th century. Probate law and practice Virginia History 19th century. Enslaved persons Emancipation Virginia History 19th century. Enslaved persons Emancipation Virginia.