Slavery and Freedom in Savannah is a richly illustrated; accessibly written book modeled on the very successful Slavery in New York; a volume Leslie M. Harris coedited with Ira Berlin. Here Harris and Daina Ramey Berry have collected a variety of perspectives on slavery; emancipation; and black life in Savannah from the city’s founding to the early twentieth century. Written by leading historians of Savannah; Georgia; and the South; the volume includes a mix of longer thematic essays and shorter sidebars focusing on individual people; events; and places.The story of slavery in Savannah may seem to be an outlier; given how strongly most people associate slavery with rural plantations. But as Harris; Berry; and the other contributors point out; urban slavery was instrumental to the slave-based economy of North America. Ports like Savannah served as both an entry point for slaves and as a point of departure for goods produced by slave labor in the hinterlands. Moreover; Savannah’s connection to slavery was not simply abstract. The system of slavery as experienced by African Americans and enforced by whites influenced the very shape of the city; including the building of its infrastructure; the legal system created to support it; and the economic life of the city and its rural surroundings. Slavery and Freedom in Savannah restores the urban African American population and the urban context of slavery; Civil War; and emancipation to its rightful place; and it deepens our understanding of the economic; social; and political fabric of the U.S. South.This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. This volume is published in cooperation with Savannah’s Telfair Museum and draws upon its expertise and collections; including Telfair’s Owens-Thomas House. As part of their ongoing efforts to document the lives and labors of the African Americans―enslaved and free―who built and worked at the house; this volume also explores the Owens; Thomas; and Telfair families and the ways in which their ownership of slaves was foundational to their wealth and worldview.
#1896258 in Books University of Georgia Press 2004-09-01 2004-09-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.28 x 6.00l; 1.67 #File Name: 0820323969528 pages
Review
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Did you know Dartmouth and Princeton pumped out pro-slavery preachers ...By Thomas K. CarberryDid you know Dartmouth and Princeton pumped out pro-slavery preachers? Did you know many of the justifications for slavery came from the Bible? Did you know that much of the debate of slavery came not over its morality; but over its cost benefit analysis and bottom line profit margin?Or that President Woodrow Wilson's father made his name preaching in favor of slavery?Slavery remains with us to this day in the 13th Amendment and all Americans should read about our evil past; I think.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. ProslaveryBy Frederick TresslerA useful book for students of early American history. The author challenges popularly held beliefs as to origins of support for the intuition of slavery. Tise does an excellent job making his case.3 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Food for ThoughtBy M. ChessonI read Larry Tise's Proslavery not long after it was published; because I was asked to review it. I found it well written; but somewhat dense; yet very rewarding. Some antebellum wit said of the region; "alas for the South; her books have grown fewer; she never was much for literature."While some can think of exceptions to that statement; it was generally true. White Southerners were not a bookish people; and did not produce; or read; volumes by the carload. If you subtract titles in law; political philosophy; and theology; the list is even shorter. What Tise does is trace the origins of the pro-slavery defense or "positive good" argument back to its origins among New England clergy and other northern thinkers and writers. His volume; at just over five hundred pages; is not easy reading; but he deals with an important subject; has an original thesis; and proves many of his points.Michael B. ChessonFounding Professor and DeanThe American College of History Legal Studies
