Fatal self-deception : slaveholding paternalism in the Old South / Eugene D. Genovese, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Genovese, Eugene D., 1930-2012.

Contributor:

Fox-Genovese, Elizabeth, 1941-2007.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Slavery--Southern States--History--19th century.

Slavery.

White people.

Social conditions.

Plantation workers.

History.

Enslaved persons.

Paternalism.

Plantation owners.

Southern States.

Plantation owners--Southern States--History--19th century.

Paternalism--Southern States--History--19th century.

Enslaved persons--Southern States--Social conditions--19th century.

Plantation workers--Southern States--History--19th century.

White people--Southern States--Social conditions--19th century.

Physical Description:

xvii, 232 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Summary:

"Slaveholders perpetuated and rationalized a romanticized version of plantation life. However, masters' relations with white plantation laborers and servants remains a largely unstudied subject. Southerners drew on the work of British and European socialists to conclude that all labor, white and black, suffered de facto slavery, and they championed the South's 'Christian slavery' as the most humane and compassionate of social systems, ancient and modern"--Provided by publisher.

"Slaveholders were preoccupied with presenting slavery as a benign, paternalistic institution in which the planter took care of his family, and slaves were content with their fate. In this book, Eugene D. Genovese and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese discuss how slaveholders perpetuated and rationalized this romanticized version of life on the plantation. Slaveholders' paternalism had little to do with ostensible benevolence, kindness, and good cheer. It grew out of the necessity to discipline and morally justify a system of exploitation. At the same time, this book also advocates the examination of masters' relations with white plantation laborers and servants, a largely unstudied subject. Southerners drew on the work of British and European socialists to conclude that all labor, white and black, suffered de facto slavery, and they championed the South's 'Christian slavery' as the most humane and compassionate of social systems, ancient and modern"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 "Boisterous Passions" 6

Edmund Burke's Cautionary Tale 11

Morals 14

Apprehensive Parents 16

Young Gentlemen in Fields and Stores 19

Weighed in the Balances 22

2 The Complete Household 25

Paternal Authority 28

Property in Man? 30

Household Problems 35

Slave Sales 37

3 Strangers within the Gates 40

Sundry White Servants 40

Governesses and Tutors 44

Hired Laborers 48

Overseers and Their Families 51

4 Loyal and Loving Slaves 60

Masterful Forbearance 61

Mutual Dependency and Manipulation 67

Souls 75

Grief and Money 79

Tests of Faith 81

Dangerous Wishes 86

5 The Blacks' Best and Most Faithful Friend 89

A Stagnant Race 90

Black Incapacity 92

Black Thoughts, According to White Critics 95

Views of Emancipation 98

News from Africa 102

The Fate of the Indians 105

The Specter of Barbarism 109

6 Guardians of a Helpless Race 111

Vindication from the Free States 112

Abolitionism Indicted for Racism 116

Persistent Fears of Black Extermination 119

White Recognition of Black Achievement 122

An Incongruity 128

7 Devotion unto Death 131

Armed Slaves: Friends or Foes? 131

Concern for White Women 138

Mounting Crises 139

Body Servants in War and Propaganda 141

The Confederacy Opts for Black Troops 142.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: 1. 'Boisterous passions'; 2. The complete household; 3. Strangers within the gates; 4. Loyal and loving slaves; 5. The blacks' best and most faithful friend; 6. Guardians of a helpless race; 7. Devotion unto death.

ISBN:

9781107011649

1107011647

9781107605022

1107605024

OCLC:

703871020