American Slavery
American Slavery 1619-1877
Book Report
History 1050
6/18/2013
Introduction
“American Slavery, 1619-1877” by Peter Kolchin gives an overview of the practice of slavery in America between 1619 and 1877. From the origins of slavery in the colonial period to the road to its abolition, the book explores the characteristics of slave culture as well as the racial mind-sets and development of the old South’s social structures.
This paper is divided in two sections. The first section observes the author’s vivid presentation of the slave-master psyche and relationship from the 17th to 19th century America. The second section examines the author’s choice of method in narration - how, apart from quoting statistics, Kolchin gave weight to accounts of slaves’ and slave owners’ lives and conditions.
Delving into the Peculiar Institution of Slavery
American slavery, Kolchin explains, didn't develop in isolation, but evolved as part of a trend toward forced labor in the New World colonies. By about 1770, American slavery was concentrated mostly in the South, though it existed in all of the American colonies, and, as time passed, relationships between slaves and masters changed as second- generation slaves lost much of their African culture and became Americanized. The Revolutionary era saw slavery threatened by Enlightenment ideology, but the institution survived more strongly than ever in the South and, during the 19th century, came to be perceived as fundamental to the Southern economy and way of life. Kolchin also writes about slave life through the Civil War, and, not surprisingly, he sees slavery as leaving a legacy that has persisted throughout our own century.
Kolchin probes into the lives of those imprisoned by the “peculiar institution” of American slavery. It begins with slavery’s origin in America in the sixteen hundreds, with the importation of slaves from Africa. Their free labor established the agricultural foundation of the
Book Report
History 1050
6/18/2013
Introduction
“American Slavery, 1619-1877” by Peter Kolchin gives an overview of the practice of slavery in America between 1619 and 1877. From the origins of slavery in the colonial period to the road to its abolition, the book explores the characteristics of slave culture as well as the racial mind-sets and development of the old South’s social structures.
This paper is divided in two sections. The first section observes the author’s vivid presentation of the slave-master psyche and relationship from the 17th to 19th century America. The second section examines the author’s choice of method in narration - how, apart from quoting statistics, Kolchin gave weight to accounts of slaves’ and slave owners’ lives and conditions.
Delving into the Peculiar Institution of Slavery
American slavery, Kolchin explains, didn't develop in isolation, but evolved as part of a trend toward forced labor in the New World colonies. By about 1770, American slavery was concentrated mostly in the South, though it existed in all of the American colonies, and, as time passed, relationships between slaves and masters changed as second- generation slaves lost much of their African culture and became Americanized. The Revolutionary era saw slavery threatened by Enlightenment ideology, but the institution survived more strongly than ever in the South and, during the 19th century, came to be perceived as fundamental to the Southern economy and way of life. Kolchin also writes about slave life through the Civil War, and, not surprisingly, he sees slavery as leaving a legacy that has persisted throughout our own century.
Kolchin probes into the lives of those imprisoned by the “peculiar institution” of American slavery. It begins with slavery’s origin in America in the sixteen hundreds, with the importation of slaves from Africa. Their free labor established the agricultural foundation of the