Freedom in a slave society : stories from the antebellum South / Johanna Nicol Shields.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shields, Johanna Nicol, author.

Series:

Cambridge studies on the American South.

Cambridge studies on the American South

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--Southern States--History and criticism.

American literature.

Authors, American--Southern States--Political and social views.

Authors, American.

Politics and literature--Southern States--History--19th century.

Politics and literature.

White people--Southern States--Attitudes--History--19th century.

White people.

Liberty in literature.

Slavery in literature.

Southern States--Intellectual life--19th century.

Southern States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiii, 318 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Before the Civil War, most Southern white people were as strongly committed to freedom for their kind as to slavery for African Americans. This study views that tragic reality through the lens of eight authors - representatives of a South that seemed, to them, destined for greatness but was, we know, on the brink of destruction. Exceptionally able and ambitious, these men and women won repute among the educated middle classes in the Southwest, South and the nation, even amid sectional tensions. Although they sometimes described liberty in the abstract, more often these authors discussed its practical significance: what it meant for people to make life's important choices freely and to be responsible for the results. They publicly insisted that freedom caused progress, but hidden doubts clouded this optimistic vision. Ultimately, their association with the oppression of slavery dimmed their hopes for human improvement, and fear distorted their responses to the sectional crisis.

Contents:

Regarding a "weird utopia"

Self-making in southwestern towns

The domestic foundations of self-determination

The voluntary bonds of friendship

Southwestern histories for a divided market

Slave characters and the problem of human nature

Slavery and political trust

Self-determination and slavery in conflict.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

ISBN:

1-107-22948-0

1-139-50806-7

1-139-51674-4

1-283-57468-3

1-139-51767-8

9786613887139

1-139-51417-2

1-139-00403-4

1-139-51860-7

1-139-51509-8

OCLC:

828303644