About this item
Highlights
- Drawing on the federal census, wills, mortgage bills of sale, tax returns, and newspaper advertisements, this authoritative study describes the nature of African-American slaveholding, its complexity, and its rationales.
- About the Author: Historian Larry Koger lives in Largo, Maryland.
- 300 Pages
- Social Science, Ethnic Studies
Description
About the Book
Most Americans, both black and white, believe that slavery was a system exclusively maintained by whites to exploit blacks, but Larry Koger's authoritative study reveals the extent to which African Americans played a significant role as slave masters in the peculiar institution. By examining South Carolina's diverse population of African-American slaveowners, Koger demonstrates that free African Americans widely embraced slavery as a viable economic system and that they--like their white counterparts--exploited the labor of slaves on their farms and in their businesses.Book Synopsis
Drawing on the federal census, wills, mortgage bills of sale, tax returns, and newspaper advertisements, this authoritative study describes the nature of African-American slaveholding, its complexity, and its rationales. It reveals how some African-American slave masters had earned their freedom and how some free Blacks purchased slaves for their own use. The book provides a fresh perspective on slavery in the antebellum South and underscores the importance of African Americans in the history of American slavery.
The book also paints a picture of the complex social dynamics between free and enslaved Blacks, and between Black and white slaveowners. It illuminates the motivations behind African-American slaveholding--including attempts to create or maintain independence, to accumulate wealth, and to protect family members--and sheds light on the harsh realities of slavery for both Black masters and Black slaves.
- BLACK SLAVEOWNERS--Shows how some African Americans became slave masters
- MOTIVATIONS FOR SLAVEHOLDING--Highlights the motivations behind African-American slaveholding
- SOCIAL DYNAMICS--Sheds light on the complex social dynamics between free and enslaved Blacks
- ANEBELLUM SOUTH--Provides a perspective on slavery in the antebellum South
Review Quotes
"artfully demonstrates the full extent"-Choice; "a valuable reference work...powerful history...well done"-Charleston News & Courier; "thought-provoking study"-The Journal of Southern History; "interesting and valuable...worthwhile"-Daily News; (Bowling Green, Kentucky) "intensive examination...provocative...fascinating and remarkable information"-Georgia Historical Quarterly; "a useful study that should stimulate further research on the status and history of free black slaveholders"-The North Carolina Historical Review.
About the Author
Historian Larry Koger lives in Largo, Maryland.