Slavery in America - Softcover

Dorothy Schneider; Carl J. Schneider

4.18

11 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0816068399 ISBN 13: 9780816068395

Publisher: Checkmark Books, 2006

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This is an in-depth reference to the history of American slavery. The history of the enslavement of African Americans in North America stretches from the beginning of European colonization to the end of the Civil War. Slavery in America, Revised Edition recounts this history, as well as the Reconstruction period, by examining many of its aspects: the slave catchers and their coffles in Africa, the crowded slave ships that transported Africans to America, slave auctions, life and labor on plantations, escape attempts and insurrections, and the Civil War and eventual emancipation. This edition also features a new chapter that extends coverage through Reconstruction. The authors capture the complexities and the extent of slavery, as well as document the wide differences in the ways people reacted to this terrible institution.

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About the Author:

Carl J. Schneider has taught at numerous universities, including the University of New Hampshire, the University of Nebraska, Kirkland College, and Montclair State University, where he was dean of graduate studies.

From Booklist:

Typical for Facts On File publications, this is a well-researched volume that will find users from middle school and up. The Schneiders have organized this "eyewitness history" on slavery in the U.S. into 12 thematic and roughly chronological chapters, such as "West Coast of Africa," "Slave Life," "Runaways," "Argument over Slavery," and "End of Slavery."Each chapter begins with "The Historical Context," which includes an overview of the topic, followed by a "Chronicle of Events" and "Eyewitness Testimony" excerpted from letters, diaries, and old papers. Each excerpt notes the author and provides a reference to its source. Information blows away some stereotypes, clarifies slave life (for example, there are specific descriptions of poor food and medical care), and includes information on lesser-known topics such as Canadian refugee communities. The use of consistent subheadings in the "Historical Context" and "Eyewitness Testimony" sections of the chapters might have made it easier for students to connect the two, but this isn't too serious a flaw.Following the text are three appendixes, the first a 45-item list of documents (colonial, state, and U.S. acts, laws, speeches, court decisions), including Benjamin Franklin's 1790 Antislavery Petition to the U.S. Congress and Angelina Grimke's 1836 Appeal to the Christian Women of the South. Appendix B contains very short biographies of almost 200 "major personalities," including abolitionists, political figures, slaves, and other activists. The third appendix is a four-page glossary of some terms related to slavery. The "Notes" section provides brief citations for resources referenced in the text, with fuller information contained in the 25-page bibliography. An index and photographs add to the work's usefulness.No other single work is quite comparable, although there are many other descriptions of slavery, and first-person accounts are becoming more readily available both in print and on the Internet. With the current curricular emphasis on primary documents, Slavery in America will be used in most libraries. RBB
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