Slavery as a State of War: New York Abolitionists, the Laws of War, and the Right of Self-Emancipation.

This article examines an important element of New Yorkers' legal rhetoric in support of abolition: their use of ideas grounded in the laws of war. It analyzes how New York abolitionists used the rules governing warfare between 1830 and 1860 both to attack the legality of slavery and to justify slaves' enduring right to rebel and escape.