Overview
That the Confederacy in its waning days frantically turned to the idea of arming slaves has long been known by all close students of the Civil War. Yet the more explosive, if unexamined, issue before the southern people and leaders in this last great crisis was whether or not the South itself should initiate a program of emancipation as part of a plan to recruit black soldiers. Jefferson Davis and other leaders, including Robert E. Lee, attempted to force the South to face the desperate alternative of sacrificing one of its war aims- the preservation of slavery- in order to achieve the other- an independent southern nation. In The Gray and the Black, Robert F. Durden reconstructs this intensely passionate debate that cuts to the heart of what the war was about for the South. Throughout his narrative, Durden lets the participants speak for themselves- in journal extracts, newspaper articles, letters, and speeches. These documents and Durden's perceptive commentary demonstrate with sad finality that, when faced with this ultimate choice, southerners, with certain fascinating exceptions, could not bring themselves to abandon the """"peculiar institution.
Full Product Details
Author: Robert F. Durden
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
Imprint: Louisiana State University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.70cm
, Length: 23.20cm
Weight: 0.458kg
ISBN: 9780807125571
ISBN 10: 0807125571
Pages: 305
Publication Date: 01 May 2000
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Awaiting stock
The supplier is currently out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out for you.
Reviews
Durden has performed a service of great value in reminding us that Confederates debated emancipation among themselves and in describing and analyzing that debate more completely . . . than any previous scholar.--American Historical Review An excellent and original piece of scholarship.--Journal of Southern History Durden has skillfully recreated a complex, contorted drama. . . . [The Gray and the Black] should be read by every student of the Lost Cause.--Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
An excellent and original piece of scholarship.--Journal of Southern History Durden has performed a service of great value in reminding us that Confederates debated emancipation among themselves and in describing and analyzing that debate more completely . . . than any previous scholar.--American Historical Review Durden has skillfully recreated a complex, contorted drama. . . . [The Gray and the Black] should be read by every student of the Lost Cause.--Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
Author Information
Robert F. Durden is professor of history emeritus at Duke University. President of the Southern Historical Association in 1983- 84, he is the author of many books, including The Climax of Populism: The Election of 1896 and The Self-Inflicted Wound: Southern Politics in the Nineteenth Century.
