Beyond Freedoms Reach (Hardcover)

Adam Rothman

ISBN 10: 0674368126 / ISBN 13: 9780674368125

Published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass, 2015

About this Item

Hardcover. Born into slavery in rural Louisiana, Rose Herera was bought and sold several times before being purchased by the De Hart family of New Orleans. Still a slave, she married and had children, who also became the property of the De Harts. But after Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862 during the American Civil War, Herera's owners fled to Havana, taking three of her small children with them. Beyond Freedom's Reach is the true story of one woman's quest to rescue her children from bondage.In a gripping, meticulously researched account, Adam Rothman lays bare the mayhem of emancipation during and after the Civil War. Just how far the rights of freed slaves extended was unclear to black and white people alike, and so when Mary De Hart returned to New Orleans in 1865 to visit friends, she was surprised to find herself taken into custody as a kidnapper. The case of Rose Herera's abducted children made its way through New Orleans' courts, igniting a custody battle that revealed the prospects and limits of justice during Reconstruction.Rose Herera's perseverance brought her children's plight to the attention of members of the U.S. Senate and State Department, who turned a domestic conflict into an international scandal. Beyond Freedom's Reach is an unforgettable human drama and a poignant reflection on the tangled politics of slavery and the hazards faced by so many Americans on the hard road to freedom. After Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862, Rose Hereras owners fled to Havana, taking her three children with them. Adam Rothman tells the story of Hereras quest to rescue her children from bondage after the war. As the kidnapping case made its way through the courts, it revealed the prospects and limits of justice during Reconstruction. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780674368125

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Beyond Freedoms Reach (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674368126
• ISBN 13: 9780674368125
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Born into slavery in rural Louisiana, Rose Herera was bought and sold several times before being purchased by the De Hart family of New Orleans. Still a slave, she married and had children, who also became the property of the De Harts. But after Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862 during the American Civil War, Herera's owners fled to Havana, taking three of her small children with them. Beyond Freedom's Reach is the true story of one woman's quest to rescue her children from bondage.
In a gripping, meticulously researched account, Adam Rothman lays bare the mayhem of emancipation during and after the Civil War. Just how far the rights of freed slaves extended was unclear to black and white people alike, and so when Mary De Hart returned to New Orleans in 1865 to visit friends, she was surprised to find herself taken into custody as a kidnapper. The case of Rose Herera's abducted children made its way through New Orleans' courts, igniting a custody battle that revealed the prospects and limits of justice during Reconstruction.
Rose Herera's perseverance brought her children's plight to the attention of members of the U.S. Senate and State Department, who turned a domestic conflict into an international scandal. Beyond Freedom's Reach is an unforgettable human drama and a poignant reflection on the tangled politics of slavery and the hazards faced by so many Americans on the hard road to freedom.
Beyond Freedom's Reach received the Jefferson Davis Award from the American Civil War Museum and the 2016 Margaret T. Lane/Virginia F. Saunders Memorial Research Award from the Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association. It was named a 2016 Book of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

About the Author

Adam Rothman is a Professor of History at Georgetown University.