ABOUT THIS BOOK

Women and Slavery offers readers an opportunity to examine the establishment, growth, and evolution of slavery in the United States as it impacted women-enslaved and free, African American and white, wealthy and poor, northern and southern. The primary documents-including newspaper articles, broadsides, cartoons, pamphlets, speeches, photographs, memoirs, and editorials-are organized thematically and represent cultural, political, religious, economic, and social perspectives on this dark and complex period in American history.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Catherine M. Lewis is professor of history, director of the Museum of History and Holocaust Education, and coordinator of the Public History Program at Kennesaw State University. She is the author of a number of books, including The Changing Face of Public History and Don’t Ask What I Shot: How Eisenhower’s Love of Golf Helped Shape 1950s America.

REVIEWS

"A wealth of material for scholars of nineteenth-century America and of women and slaves in particular. Women and Slavery in America is a well-edited documentary reader that examines the circumstances of women in slavery--the ones that compelled many of Weld’s lecturers to go into the field to agitate against America’s peculiar institution. It is also more than that, as it brings together the experiences of a diverse array of women, free and slave, Northern and Southern, rich and poor, and African American and white, to examine the effect of slavery upon women in particular." --Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz, H-CivWar Reviews, June 2012

"Illuminating as they are stark, the documents tell stories of coercion, exploitation, and violence, as well as cooperation, autonomy, and agency. The editors’ thoughtful selection of documents allows them to speak to one another across the chapters." --Stephanie Stegman, H-Net Reviews, Oct. 2012

2012 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1: Law, Custom, and Tradition

2: Work and Daily Life

3: Building Community

4: Resisting Slavery

5: The Meaning of Freedom

Appendix 1: Timeline

Appendix 2: Questions for Consideration

Appendix 3: Classroom and Research Activities

Annotated Bibliography

Index

About the Authors

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