In a searing indictment of plantation life in the antebellum South,
noted historian Franklin (professor emeritus at Duke Univ.) and
Schweninger (History/Univ. of North Carolina, Greensboro) use
primary documents such as court records, newspapers, and letters of
contemporaries, including slaves themselves, to show that slaves
often resisted their condition by means direct and indirect, and
frequently to the point of running away. Historians traditionally
have depicted antebellum plantation slaves as docile and resigned
to their fate. Indeed, early studies of American slavery, such as
Ulrich Phillips's Life and Labor in the Old South (1929),
romanticized plantation slavery and even portrayed slaves as
generally contented with their lot. While modern scholarship has
exposed the harsh aspects of plantation life, the image of the
slave as passive victim has survived. The reality was vastly
different, say the authors; quiet resistance and open rebellion
were common occurrences on the typical Southern plantation, and the
average plantation owner had several runaways every year. In a
meticulous survey of primary sources, the authors examine multiple
aspects of slave resistance, including passive resistance and
outright racial violence on the plantation; the motives of
runaways, which included, commonly, the desire to be reunited with
family members; and typical opportunities for running away, such as
the death of the master. Runaways faced tremendous obstacles, the
authors point out: they had to travel hundreds of miles to freedom
amid a well-organized system of slave catching and retrieval that
was so efficient and vicious that it even enslaved free blacks, and
runaways faced drastic penalties, including physical punishment and
even death, if caught. Most were caught, but thousands continued to
seek their freedom, and many made it, whether alone, through the
solicitude of free blacks or by the Underground Railroad of
clandestine assistance, to the promised land of the free states or
Canada. A well-crafted and carefully researched account that opens
a new window onto a dark and painful chapter in American history.
(Kirkus Reviews)
This new, bold, precedent-setting study conclusively demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, significant numbers of slaves did quite frequently rebel against their masters and struggled to attain their freedom. By surveying a wealth of documents, such as planters' records, petitions to county courts and state legislatures, and local newspapers, the book shows readers how slaves resisted; when, where, and how they escaped; where they fled to; how long they remained in hiding; and how they survived away from the plantation. Of equal importance, it also examines the reactions of the white slaveholding class, revealing how they marshaled considerable effort to prevent runaways, meted out severe punishments, and established patrols to hunt down escaped slaves.
Reflecting a lifetime of thought by one of our leading authorities on African-American history, Runaway Slaves illuminates as never before the true nature of that "most peculiar institution" of the South.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(2)
