Perspectives and Irony in American Slavery

by Robert ed. HAWS

Book Overview

Perspectives and Irony in American Slavery Edited by Harry P. Owens Essays by Carl N. Degler, Eugene D. Genovese, David Brion Davis, Stanley L. Engerman, William K. Scarborough, John W. Blassingame,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 160473177X
• ISBN13: 9781604731774
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Perspectives and Irony in American Slavery

Few institutions have had as much influence on American history as the institution of slavery. For at least three centuries slavery has generated discussion, heated debate, or active denunciation. Perspectives and Irony in American Slavery is an attempt by seven distinguished historians to offer, not consensus, but seven perspectives which range from Eugene D. Genovese's interpretation as seen from a world view to John Blassingame's essays reflecting the slaves' view of their community. Carl N. Degler's essay develops the idea of irony in American slavery, one of the major themes of this work. Examining slavery in its international setting, Eugene D. Genovese interprets in his essay the relationships between emerging capitalism and slavery and the conflicts between the industrial revolution and the old landed classes. David Brion Davis concentrates on American attitudes toward slavery by viewing the abolitionists' arguments against slavery as being shaped, in part, by the southern defense of slavery: both sides of the conflict, according to Davis, ironically failed to develop along the central force of slavery. Stanley L. Engerman, co-author of the controversial study, Time on the Cross, emphasizes the importance of market functions as he interprets the southern slave economy. William K. Scarborough's essay of the slave owner, concentrates on the large plantations and offers a perspective which emphasizes the paternalistic nature of slavery. John W. Blassingame examines slavey, not from the planter's house, but from the slave quarters and offers insights into the complex relationships and status symbols within the slave community. Kenneth M. Stampp's essay concludes this volume by presenting his interpretation of the role of historians and their continuing investigation of American Negro slavery. Perspectives and Irony in American Slavery is an outgrowth of a symposium entitled "The Slave Experience in America: A Bicentennial Perspective," sponsored by the University of Mississippi in October, 1975. --- from book's dustjacket