ONLINE FIRST
published on January 25, 2024
Emily Dumler-Winckler
Abolition and Anarchy, Then and Now
Political Theologies of Resistance, Government, and Non-Reformist Reforms
The movements for prison and police abolition today are not only analogous to but extensions of antebellum and postbellum movements for the abolition of slavery and segregation. Dreams of transformative justice, resistance to government, and the creation of alternative practices have been vital to abolitionist efforts to dismantle various US anarchies. This essay examines the political and theological debates of antebellum abolitionists about the US government, the Constitution and law more broadly, civil disobedience, anarchy, and revolution, arguing that these remain vital debates for abolitionists today.