Overview

This book offers a first-person perspective on the institution of slavery in America, providing powerful, engaging interviews from the WPA slave narrative collection that enable readers to gain a true sense of the experience of enslavement. Today's students understandably have a hard time imagining what life for slaves more than 150 years ago was like. The best way to communicate what slaves experienced is to hear their words directly. The material in this concise single-volume work illuminates the lives of the last living generation of enslaved people in the United States—former slaves who were interviewed about their experiences in the 1930s. Based on more than 2,000 interviews, the transcriptions of these priceless interviews offer primary sources that tell a diverse and powerful picture of life under slavery. The book explores seven key topics—childhood, marriage, women, work, emancipation, runaways, and family. Through the examination of these subject areas, the interviews reveal the harsh realities of being a slave, such as how slave women were at the complete mercy of the men who operated the places where they lived, how nearly every enslaved person suffered a beating at some point in their lives, how enslaved families commonly lost relatives through sale, and how enslaved children were taken from their parents to care for the children of slaveholders. The thematic organizational format allows readers to easily access numerous excerpts about a specific topic quickly and enables comparisons between individuals in different locations or with different slaveholders to identify the commonalities and unique characteristics within the system of slavery.

Full Product Details

Author:   Spencer R. Crew ,  Lonnie G. Bunch III ,  Clement A. Price
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Praeger Publishers Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.737kg
ISBN:  

9781440837784

ISBN 10:   1440837783
Pages:   360
Publication Date:   15 September 2015
Recommended Age:   From 7 to 17 years
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction: The History of the Slave Narratives Interviewing Formerly Enslaved People Controversy over Use of the Narratives Growing Respect for Oral Histories Chronology of Slavery in the United States Chapter 1: The Community and Culture of the Enslaved Religious Services Worshipping in Secret Important Holidays Corn Huskings and Frolics Weddings Funerals Music Chapter 2: The Hardships of an Enslaved Childhood Familial Bonds The Slaveholder as Surrogate Parent Day-to-Day Care of Enslaved Children Transition from Childhood to Productive Worker Childhood Games (The Chance to Just Be a Child) Chapter 3: The Family Under Slavery Challenges of Marriage for the Enslaved Loss of Family Members: Separation of Couples and Families Mixed Family: White Father Providing Support for Family Members Preserving Family History Chapter 4: Women and Enslavement The Workday for Enslaved Women Enslaved Women and Their Families Enslaved Women and Marriage Sexual Imposition and Enslaved Women Chapter 5: Work and Slavery Field Workers Domestic Workers Skilled Workers Hiring Out Enslaved Workers Chapter 6: Physical Abuse and Intimidation Punishing Field Workers Punishing Domestic Workers Crushing Signs of Rebelliousness Chapter 7: Runaways and the Quest for Freedom Reasons for Deciding to Run Crafting a Plan of Escape Fleeing Not Too Far Distant Discouraging Freedom The Impact of the Civil War Emancipation Appendix: Historians' Views on Slavery: An Overview for the Advanced Reader Recommended Resources Index

Reviews

"""Summing Up: Recommended. High school, community college, and undergraduate students."" - Choice"

Summing Up: Recommended. High school, community college, and undergraduate students. - <strong>Choice</strong>

Summing Up: Recommended. High school, community college, and undergraduate students. * Choice *

Author Information

Spencer R. Crew, PhD, is Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, and coeditor of Greenwood's Slave Culture: A Documentary Collection of the Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project. Lonnie G. Bunch III is founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, and coeditor of Slave Culture: A Documentary Collection of the Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project. Clement A. Price, PhD, was Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor in History, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, and coeditor of Slave Culture: A Documentary Collection of the Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project.

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