Introduction: The alchemy of merit
Sympathy ink : staging humanity in a revolutionary empire
An ebullient summer : the Amis des Noirs organize to fight the slave trade
Children of a common father : free people of color as objects of sympathy
Who belongs as citizens? The antinomies of rights and freedom
Facing insurrection : free colored rights or emancipation
"What kind of free is this?" : probationary citizens and the dilemmas of general liberty
Can the old colonies be saved? "Disfigured slaves" and the new abolitionism
The hermeneutics of freedom and violence : justifying slavery after emancipation
Conclusion : the allure and tragedy of meritorious belonging
Epilogue : forgotten promises of representative democracy.