In the antebellum South, the presence of free people of color was
problematic to the white population. Not only were they possible
assistants to enslaved people and potential members of the labor
force; their very existence undermined popular justifications for
slavery. It is no surprise that, by the end of the Civil War, nine
Southern states had enacted legal provisions for the "voluntary"
enslavement of free blacks. What is surprising to modern
sensibilities and perplexing to scholars is that some individuals
did petition to rescind their freedom. Family or Freedom
investigates the incentives for free African Americans living in
the antebellum South to sacrifice their liberty for a life in
bondage. Author Emily West looks at the many factors influencing
these dire decisions -- from desperate poverty to the threat of
expulsion -- and demonstrates that the desire for family unity was
the most important consideration for African Americans who
submitted to voluntary enslavement. The first study of its kind to
examine the phenomenon throughout the South, this meticulously
researched volume offers the most thorough exploration of this
complex issue to date.
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