Slavery and coerced labor have been among the most ubiquitous of human institutions both in time - from ancient times to the present - and in place; having existed in virtually all geographic areas and societies. This volume covers the period from the independence of Haiti to modern perceptions of slavery by assembling twenty-eight original essays; each written by scholars acknowledged as leaders in their respective fields. Issues discussed include the sources of slaves; the slave trade; the social and economic functioning of slave societies; the responses of slaves to enslavement; efforts to abolish slavery continuing to the present day; the flow of contract labor and other forms of labor control in the aftermath of abolition; and the various forms of coerced labor that emerged in the twentieth century under totalitarian regimes and colonialism.
#1567428 in Books Colleen A Sheehan 2009-01-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x .51 x 5.98l; .80 #File Name: 0521727332226 pagesJames Madison and the Spirit of Republican Self Government
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A gift OutrightBy Wight MartindaleColleen Sheehan's book on James Madison offers a wonderfully refreshing view of what it was like to be an active American early in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Her introduction; where she quotes from Robert Frost's poem "The Gift Outright;" reminds us of the sense of gratitude felt by those just realizing that this land was indeed a gift; a gift for which we owned enormous gratitude. And gratitude; need I remind anyone; seems sadly out of fashion these days. I had just been looking over some of Van Wick Brooks essays and F. O. Matthiessen's American Renaissance; and of course they all come together with the founders like Madison....once upon a time this was all part of "American Studies;" an inspiring curriculum back in the 1960s and 1970s. I am a literature person; not a political historian; so the earnestness of Brooks and Matthiessen was infectious for me. Like Madison; they knew that America was special; that the now discarded writers of their time--Longfellow; Holmes; Cooper; Hawthorne; Emerson; Melville; were worth taking seriously because they were so serious thenmselves. Even the gloomy Melville understood that America was a special gift to those who could survive the early; difficult years. We may have been haunted in those strange; distant days; but we were not hopeless. Our regionalism was real but instructive. Everyone seemed to be on the same very exciting train ride; although perspectives differed tremendously. It was nice for me to be reminded by Dr. Sheehan's intelligent and accessible narrative that so many people--not just the writers--caught that same sense of discovery and excitement. Madison; Hamilton; and others like them can help us to recall what it was like to live in that ragged but brilliant period. The understanding of these times; and the knowledge that all this was part of our own heritage is more than nostalgic--that; too; is a gift outright.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy David EbbertAnyone interested in the founding principles of our country will find this book well worth the read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Jeffrey G. ButchAnother fascinating book on Madison
