Hanging Captain Gordon: The Life and Trial of an American Slave Trader

by Ron Soodalter

Book Overview

On a frosty day in February 1862, hundreds gathered to watch the execution of Nathaniel Gordon. Two years earlier, Gordon had taken Africans in chains from the Congo -- a hanging offense for more than forty years that no one had ever enforced. But with the country embroiled in a civil war and Abraham Lincoln at the helm, a sea change was taking place. Gordon, in the wrong place at the wrong time, got caught up in the wave. For the first time, Hanging...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743267281
• ISBN13: 9780743267281
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Lots of Insight

Hanging Captain Gordon is a good review of the slave trade and the majority attitudes that prevailed just before the start of the Civil War. The book arouses sympathy for Captain Gordon's widow and children, revulsion over the treatment of African captives, and horror at the crudeness of our entire justice system in the 18th and 19th centuries. It does not make me proud of my European ancestors. Anyone willing to critically evaluate American culture will benefit from reading this book.

Well worth the read!

Hanging Cpt. Gordon by Ron Soodalter was for me, an exceptional read. It's a non-fiction that reads like a novel, it's well written, and very fluid. The bulk of the books goes into the social and political sentiments of the mid 1800's especially as they related to slavery and the trafficking of slaves from the African continent to the Americas. The author, I believe, pain stakingly and with great detail (20 pages of footnotes) painted a psychological picture of the major players, Cpt. Gordon, the prosecutor, the defense team (dream team of 1864) and of president Lincoln, and what motivated these men. We come to see Cpt. Morgan as an unfortunate but wretched soul, whose life and death had to be used as an example, that trafficking in slaves, along with slavery in the territories and new states would not be allowed. From an historical stand point, it was interesting to see how New York and the other eastern seaboard states were heavily invested in the slave trafficking that was vital to the supply of slaves to the south. Slave trafficking florished during the 40 year period that anti trafficking laws were on the books as a capital offense. Trafficking florished and no one was hanged because of the involvement of New York financiers, insurers, ship builders, legal community and politicians. This is not a feel good history book, but for those that want an accurate account of what took place in this country during the 1800's as it ralates to slavery, slave trafficking and slave laws, this is the book.

The perfect confluence of timing and circumstances would doom Captain Gordon

The law on the books was quite clear in 1860. Any American convicted of engaging in the slave trade was subject to the death penalty. Surely Captain Nathanial Gordon from Portland, Maine had no reason to believe that this could ever happen to him as he sailed toward Africa on just such a mission in the Spring of 1860. For up until this time not a single American citizen had ever been sentenced to die for this most heinous of crimes. Yes, the slave trade was alive and well in the year before the American Civil War would commence and a great many Americans were still involved up to their ears. "Hanging Captain Gordon" is author Ron Soodalter's remarkable account of the life and death of one Captain Nathanial Gordon who would pay the ultimate price for essentially being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is a captivating book that recalls a series of events that history had largely forgotten. It is compelling reading. Most Americans will be shocked and disgusted when they learn just how widespread slave trading was in the first six decades of the nineteenth century. And what is most disturbing is how complicit many Americans were in this practice. There was lots of money to be made in the slave trade. Here in the U.S. many "respected" businessmen participated as investors in such enterprises. They would outfit the vessels and make all of the other necessary arrangements to carry out the sordid mission. Many of the the most prominent businessmen in New York and other major northern cities were involved. Many other Americans were all too happy to work as officers and crew members on these ships. And just in case someone was caught in the act there were legions of corrupt politicians and judges to provide cover. And so in 1860 as a divided America prepared to face off on the question of slavery here at home a lively slave trade continued to flourish in ports such as Havana and Rio de Janiero. It was Captain Gordon's great misfortune to be nabbed by the American steamer USS Mohican as he sailed westward with some 897 slaves on board. They were packed below like so many sardines. Nathanial Gordon and his crew had been caught red-handed at a time when the political winds at home were shifting dramatically. For it would come to pass that Nathanial Gordon of Maine would be made an example of. History would demand that he pay the ultimate price. I found "Hanging Captain Gordon" to be very thoroughly researched and particularly well written. This one held my interest from cover to cover. Ron Soodalter gives the reader a very thorough picture of all of the forces at work and players involved in the highly charged atmosphere surrounding the trial and conviction of Captain Gordon. In addition, Soodalter presents more compelling evidence at just how great a President Abraham Lincoln really was. As many in American bombarded the President with requests for a pardon for Captain Gordon Lincoln resisted. He saw the hanging of Captain Gordon

Explaining why slavery is still commonplace and unforgiveable

Mr. Soodalter does an amazing job by taking a little known event and giving it life. His characters and events are so real and the lack of support to end slavery is shameful. Although there was legislation, the politicians did little to prevent slavery from continuing (they all had them) and Soodalter shows how little things have changed in the world in his final chapter. This is an adventure, a great story, told by an excellent historian and story-teller. This is a must read!!