Douglas A. Blackmon's Slavery By Another Name
In schools around the US, students are taught that past the civil war, slavery became nonexistent. However, as I read through Douglas A. Blackmon’s Slavery By Another Name, I realized that slavery did not stop in 1865, but that it had continued for decades after, with arguably worse conditions and restrictions. In his book, Blackmon describes the struggles of African Americans after the 13th Amendment’s enactment. He describes the south’s transition from pre civil war legalized slavery to the post civil war modern industrial slavery. In AMH2020, we discuss our nations history starting in 1877 all the way up to the 21st century. The course describes a post civil war America. It assumes that slavery is no longer an issue, and that the issue
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Blackmon uses some chronology to organize the individual stories in his book. In a large part, the book centers itself around Green Cottenham, a young African American living in the south in the late 19th Century, early 20th century. The author gives us a preface to Mr. Cottenham, and then moves us into Cottenham’s arrest on March 30th, 1908. Like many other African Americans living in the south, Cottenham was arrested for “vagrancy,” an offense considered a felony. Vagrancy, is the charge used by white southerners to jail African Americans that are unemployed. Mr. Cottenham was sent to jail, then, shortly thereafter, sent to a coal mine to work as a industrial slave. The story nears its end when we unfortunately learn that Green has spent the final days of his life working at the coal mine he was assigned to in jail. In order to compile all of these events in his book, Mr. Blackmon spent a large part of the time writing this book doing research. For the most part, the author incorporates first hand accounts of events happening in the south to support his writing. In doing this, he prevents a large part of his bias being inputed in the writing of Slavery By Another Name. Although I personally prefer a story in which the storyline is linear and focused on one person, the inclusion of various accounts at various times helps build the authenticity of the authors argument that slavery, by another name, was rampant even after the freeing of African
Blackmon uses some chronology to organize the individual stories in his book. In a large part, the book centers itself around Green Cottenham, a young African American living in the south in the late 19th Century, early 20th century. The author gives us a preface to Mr. Cottenham, and then moves us into Cottenham’s arrest on March 30th, 1908. Like many other African Americans living in the south, Cottenham was arrested for “vagrancy,” an offense considered a felony. Vagrancy, is the charge used by white southerners to jail African Americans that are unemployed. Mr. Cottenham was sent to jail, then, shortly thereafter, sent to a coal mine to work as a industrial slave. The story nears its end when we unfortunately learn that Green has spent the final days of his life working at the coal mine he was assigned to in jail. In order to compile all of these events in his book, Mr. Blackmon spent a large part of the time writing this book doing research. For the most part, the author incorporates first hand accounts of events happening in the south to support his writing. In doing this, he prevents a large part of his bias being inputed in the writing of Slavery By Another Name. Although I personally prefer a story in which the storyline is linear and focused on one person, the inclusion of various accounts at various times helps build the authenticity of the authors argument that slavery, by another name, was rampant even after the freeing of African