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Black Pioneers: Images of the Black Experience in the North American Frontier

PDF Black Pioneers: Images of the Black Experience in the North American Frontier by John W. Ravage in History

Description

It is generally recognized that antebellum interracial relationships were “notorious” at the neighborhood level. But we have yet to fully uncover the complexities of such relationships; especially from freedwomen’s and children’s points of view. While it is known that Cincinnati had the largest per capita population of mixed race people outside the South during the antebellum period; historians have yet to explore how geography played a central role in this outcome. The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers made it possible for Southern white men to ferry women and children of color for whom they had some measure of concern to free soil with relative ease. Some of the women in question appear to have been “fancy girls;” enslaved women sold for use as prostitutes or “mistresses.” Green focuses on women who appear to have been the latter; recognizing the problems with the term “mistress;” given its shifting meaning even during the antebellum period. Remember Me to Miss Louisa; among other things; moves the life of the fancy girl from New Orleans; where it is typically situated; to the Midwest. The manumission of these women and their children—and other enslaved women never sold under this brand—occurred as America’s frontiers pushed westward; and urban life followed in their wake. Indeed; Green’s research examines the tensions between the urban Midwest and the rising Cotton Kingdom. It does so by relying on surviving letters; among them those from an ex-slave mistress who sent her “love” to her former master. This relationship forms the crux of the first of three case studies. The other two concern a New Orleans young woman who was the mistress of an aging white man; and ten Alabama children who received from a white planter a $200;000 inheritance (worth roughly $5.1 million in today’s currency). In each case; those freed people faced the challenges characteristic of black life in a largely hostile America. While the frequency with which Southern white men freed enslaved women and their children is now generally known; less is known about these men’s financial and emotional investments in them. Before the Civil War; a white Southern man’s pending marriage; aging body; or looming death often compelled him to free an African American woman and their children. And as difficult as it may be for the modern mind to comprehend; some kind of connection sometimes existed between these individuals. This study argues that such men—though they hardly stand excused for their ongoing claims to privilege—were hidden actors in freedwomen’s and children’s attempts to survive the rigors and challenges of life as African Americans in the years surrounding the Civil War. Green examines many facets of this phenomenon in the hope of revealing new insights about the era of slavery. Historians; students; and general readers of US history; African American studies; black urban history; and antebellum history will find much of interest in this fascinating study.


#2117940 in Books 1997-12Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 .84 x 6.44 x 9.33l; #File Name: 0874805465286 pages


Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent!By Big Sistah PattyPictures are worth a thousand words as they say. It is certainly true in Mr. Ravage's book. I like the book a lot. The issues I had with the book are very minor. First the book goes a little off course when the subject matter leaves the US mainland; though the information presented was very useful. I guess a title of a book should stick to what it professes.There was one excerpt that bothered me regarding US government using the Buffalo Soldiers to subdue the native groups."In the Civil War; over 175;000 African Americans men fought in the Union army in the Negro Volunteer Corps. When the conflict was over; black troopers were assigned to the western frontier; where they had problems with Mexicans and engaged in the Indian Wars for approximately forty years. There were more than 10;000 who fought in the infantry and cavalry; all in segregated units under the command of white officers.Based in the Plains and the Southwest; these enlisted men fought the Sioux; Apache; Comanche; Cheyenne and other Indian "belligerents"; protected the Southern border with Mexico and guarded pioneer wagon trains. "The term Indian belligerents bugged me. If someone was stealing your land and slaughtering your people; I would think making a big fuss over it is in order.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good Resource for the History of Blacks in Wesern USBy AvidReaderThis book includes a wealth of information on African Americans who settled in the west. Although the information on their individual lives may not be as detailed as in other books; the wealth of people and pictures are invaluable in gaining a clue as to how they lived and prospered. I like that the author included the good; the bad and the ugly.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Alicia D.This purchased item was in excellent condition.

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