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The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church

byRachel L. Swarns

Rachel L. Swarns traces the families of 272 enslaved people sold by Maryland Jesuits in 1838 to rescue Georgetown College from debt. Following descendants across generations, she shows how slavery financed Catholic institutions and how church officials balanced religious language with commercial calculation. The book moves between plantation records, family history, archival discovery, and present-day demands for acknowledgment and repair. By restoring names, relationships, and survival to people long treated as property, Swarns transforms an institutional scandal into a family-centered history of American slavery, faith, education, and responsibility.

Publisher

Random House

Publication date

2023

Format

Print edition

Pages

339

ISBN

9780399590863