Slavery in America

The first Reader and Guide to the subject of slavery in America. It combines both an introduction to the field and a selection of core primary and secondary readings, covering the period from the early seventeenth century to the American Civil War.Divided into 12 sections, it maps on to the semester system, whereby each section can form the core of a particular week’s teaching. The opening and closing sections follow a chronological structure, while the main body of the volume takes a thematic approach, covering the following key areas:• Slavery in the Old South• Slave Life• The Economics of Slavery• Slavery and the Law• Slave Resistance• Pro-Slavery Ideology• The Anti-Slavery Movement• Slavery and ExpansionPrimary documents are drawn from a wide variety of sources: extracts from diaries, letters, laws, debates, oral testimonies, travellers’ accounts, inventories, journals, autobiographies, petitions and novels. Black and white, male and female testimony is drawn upon. The secondary readings have been selected for including important, provocative discussions, based on the editor’s experience of what works well in a teaching environment. Where possible the secondary readings link with the primary documents.As well as an introduction to the volume, each section consists of an introduction, a secondary reading and a selection of shorter primary documents. The introduction to each section introduces the main points of historical discussion, raises important questions and indicates what other writings should be consulted.Key Features• The only combined reader and guide to the subject of slavery in America• Based on the author’s extensive experience of teaching the subject• Includes primary and secondary readings• Covers colonial period and later years – incredibly broad-ranging