Woman of color, daughter of privilege : Amanda America Dickson, 1849-1893 / Kent Anderson Leslie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leslie, Kent Anderson.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dickson, Amanda America, 1849-1893.

Dickson, Amanda America.

Multiracial people--Georgia--Hancock County--Biography.

Multiracial people.

Plantation life--Georgia--Hancock County--History--19th century.

Plantation life.

Hancock County (Ga.)--Biography.

Hancock County (Ga.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (248 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Athens : University of Georgia Press, c1995.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This fascinating story of Amanda America Dickson, born the privileged daughter of a white planter and an unconsenting slave in antebellum Georgia, shows how strong-willed individuals defied racial strictures for the sake of family. Kent Anderson Leslie uses the events of Dickson's life to explore the forces driving southern race and gender relations from the days of King Cotton through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and New South eras. Although legally a slave herself well into her adolescence, Dickson was much favored by her father and lived comfortably in his house, receiving a genteel upbringing and education. After her father died in 1885 Dickson inherited most of his half-million dollar estate, sparking off two years of legal battles with white relatives. When the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the will, Dickson became the largest landowner in Hancock County, Georgia, and the wealthiest black woman in the post-Civil War South. Kent Anderson Leslie's portrayal of Dickson is enhanced by a wealth of details about plantation life; the elaborate codes of behavior for men and women, blacks and whites in the South; and the equally complicated circumstances under which racial transgressions were sometimes ignored, tolerated, or even accepted.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

CHAPTER 1. Exceptions to the Rules

CHAPTER 2. A Story

CHAPTER 3. The Dickson Will

CHAPTER 4. The Death of a Lady

Appendixes

Notes

Bibliography

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [179]-211) and index.

ISBN:

9786612795732

9781282795730

1282795732

9780820337173

082033717X

OCLC:

676695792