Freedom in a Slave Society: Stories from the Antebellum South

Freedom in a Slave Society: Stories from the Antebellum South
ISBN-10
1107013372
ISBN-13
9781107013377
Category
History
Pages
343
Language
English
Published
2012-08-13
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Author
Johanna Nicol Shields

Description

This book explores the relationship between freedom and slavery in the antebellum American South, studying authors who spoke for the Southwest's educated classes but often reached national readerships. Instead of treating freedom as an abstraction, this book analyzes the practical meanings attached to liberty by people who treasured it, even as they defended slavery. Juxtaposing what these Southerners wrote for a burgeoning print market with how they lived, in private and in public, this study sheds new light on the ethical paradox that plunged the United States into war.

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