From the sixteenth to early-nineteenth century; four times more Africans than Europeans crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. While this forced migration stripped slaves of their liberty; it failed to destroy many of their cultural practices; which came with Africans to the New World. In Working the Diaspora; Frederick Knight examines work cultures on both sides of the Atlantic; from West and West Central Africa to British North America and the Caribbean.Knight demonstrates that the knowledge that Africans carried across the Atlantic shaped Anglo-American agricultural development and made particularly important contributions to cotton; indigo; tobacco; and staple food cultivation. The book also compellingly argues that the work experience of slaves shaped their views of the natural world. Broad in scope; clearly written; and at the center of current scholarly debates; Working the Diaspora challenges readers to alter their conceptual frameworks about Africans by looking at them as workers who; through the course of the Atlantic slave trade and plantation labor; shaped the development of the Americas in significant ways.
#658140 in Books NYU Press 2010-09-28 2010-09-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .63 x 5.98l; 1.00 #File Name: 0814721117224 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Founder in two worldsBy Daniel PutmanThis short biography of Albert Gallatin has two things to recommend it. First; Dungan is a good writer. Dungan had to work with somewhat limited information on Gallatin and Gallatin’s role in the country’s founding is marginal but critically marginal. Finances rarely get much historical press. Dungan does a nice job of presenting Gallatin’s work as Secretary of the Treasury under Jefferson and Madison and his other contributions in working on the country’s earliest financial struggles. Dungan never gets bogged down in too many financial details but at the same time he shows Gallatin’s contributions with clarity and fairness to his subject. Dungan’s writing is organized with excellent transitions and he does a fine job of filling in the reader on what the other players in government were doing when Gallatin was involved. It is a well-written book.Second; this book throws light on a person who had a foot in two worlds – Switzerland and the United States. Gallatin’s life in Geneva and; throughout his life; his concern about his native city and his desire off and on to return there are brought out well in the book. I found the development of Geneva’s political situation before; during and after the French Revolution interesting and Gallatin’s response to those events gives a good sense of who Gallatin was as an individual. He was at home in both worlds and overcoming the prejudice in the U.S. against a brilliant intensely hard-working immigrant with a French accent is a tribute to Gallatin’s courage and dedication to his new home. Gallatin was what we might call today a “laid back†person and this character trait helped him enormously in dealing with those who hated him either for his Swiss background or for his ideas which were almost always well-developed. Gallatin was intensely devoted to Jefferson and Jeffersonian ideas but he was always a pragmatist and walked political lines many others could not handle.This is an informative and well-written book. I highly recommend it for an appreciation of this little known but highly important figure who helped to shape early American financial policy.15 of 15 people found the following review helpful. This book is extremely well written and researchedBy Daniel DuncanI can't say enough about how much I love this book! I am a direct descendant of Jean Badollet; Gallatin's life long friend and confidant. I have many copies of their correspondences and family letters. Being a genealogist I know the importance of researching close ties to other families and individuals. So; my knowledge of Albert Gallatin is extensive to say the least. I have made pilgrimages to his grave and former home in PA. Read every book written on the man. Yet; Mr. Dungan has found information from primary source material that I have not. He has written a companion to "The Life of Albert Gallatin" by Henry Adams that does not just copy what we already know; but goes deeper into what made the man and why such a prolific man has remained unknown to our history books.Dungan is the type of author who knows non-fiction historical figures can only stay interesting if written in readable prose and researched extensively. This book is a mear 168 pages.Mr. Dungan; I can't thank you enough for doing the work for me; and for letting the world know the place Albert Gallatin deserves in our American History landscape.Cheers!2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. An Exceptionally Influential Treasury SecretaryBy Leonard J. WilsonGallatin; America's Swiss Founding Father; by Nicholas Dungan; is a biography of Albert Gallatin; Swiss immigrant to the US in 1780; Republican leader in the House of Representatives in the late 1790s; the longest serving Secretary of the Treasury; 1801-13; US Representative to negotiation of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812; US Minister to France and Great Britain; founder of NYU and first President of its Council. That's a pretty impressive resume.Gallatin was an interesting and complex man. Although a leading Republican and Secretary of the Treasury throughout Thomas Jefferson's presidency; he differed with Jefferson on the establishment of the Bank of the United States. This was not a minor point. In George Washington's first cabinet; Jefferson was Secretary of State and Alexander Hamilton Secretary of the Treasury. These two held strongly opposing views on the proper role of the new federal government. The creation of the Bank of the United States was symbolic of their differences. Hamilton favored a strong federal government and tended to view the "necessary and proper" clause in the Constitution as sufficient justification for any federal action not explicitly prohibited elsewhere in the document. Jefferson feared an overly powerful central government and opposed any federal power not explicitly authorized by the Constitution. After Washington repeatedly supported Hamilton's views; Jefferson resigned. This split resulted in the formation of the Federalist (Hamiltonian) and Republican (Jeffersonian) parties.While Jefferson's opposition to the Bank was typically expressed in constitutional terms; I suspect he also had an emotional opposition to banks in general as a result of his chronic indebtedness. He also may have felt it was politically prudent to play to the opinions of the multitude of indebted southern planters that were the core of his supporters. At any rate; after opposing the creation of the Bank; Jefferson; as president; took no action to abolish it. Gallatin; as Treasury Secretary; not only had the courage to suggest that his president and party leader abandon one of the key articles of faith on which the Republican Party was founded; but was also successful in convincing the president that the Bank was both essential and at least somewhat compatible with the Constitution.Gallatin played a similar role in the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson hesitated to approve the purchase since the Constitution did not explicitly authorize the action and suggested a constitutional amendment should be sought to provide the necessary authority. Gallatin was instrumental in convincing Jefferson that Napoleon was seeking a quick sale and would not accept the delay necessary to amend the Constitution. Again; Jefferson accepted Gallatin's argument; purchased Louisiana; and thereby kept the lands west of the Mississippi River from potentially falling into the hands of a hostile foreign power.Gallatin; America's Swiss Founding Father is well written and researched. It does not delve deeply into Gallatin's ideas and the reasoning that led him to take positions contrary to Jefferson's. However; as a short biography (168 pages) focused on events and chronology; it deserves five stars.
