President Abraham Lincoln freed millions of slaves in the South in 1863; rescuing them; as history tells us; from a brutal and inhuman existence and making the promise of freedom and equal rights. This is a moment to celebrate and honor; to be sure; but what of the darker; more troubling side of this story? Slavery’s Ghost explores the dire; debilitating; sometimes crushing effects of slavery on race relations in American history. In three conceptually wide-ranging and provocative essays; the authors assess the meaning of freedom for enslaved and free Americans in the decades before and after the Civil War. They ask important and challenging questions: How did slaves and freedpeople respond to the promise and reality of emancipation? How committed were white southerners to the principle of racial subjugation? And in what ways can we best interpret the actions of enslaved and free Americans during slavery and Reconstruction? Collectively; these essays offer fresh approaches to questions of local political power; the determinants of individual choices; and the discourse that shaped and defined the history of black freedom. Written by three prominent historians of the period; Slavery’s Ghost forces readers to think critically about the way we study the past; the depth of racial prejudice; and how African Americans won and lost their freedom in nineteenth-century America.
#1064485 in Books Peter H Irons 2004-01-27 2004-01-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.96 x .80 x 5.03l; .61 #File Name: 0142003751400 pagesJim Crow s Children
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An important review of an often misunderstood periodBy Boyd BosmaPeter Irons is an outstanding scholar and constitutional attorney; and gives in this book a well-document and complete review of the legal issues and developments in the years following the epochal Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education. The Supreme Court's 1954 decision was a revolutionary event in American constitutional law and our politics; but few today realize why and how very little actually happened for another ten years after 1954. Irons' analysis is essential to understanding the shortcomings of our system and the things that are needed to overcome the continuing problems that were not solved by Brown. The book would be an important asset for anyone trying to understand the legal issues and the goals of the desegregation movement.7 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Very well done though I had two qualmsBy P. MeltzerThis book is clearly the result of a great deal of thought and effortand I recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. It really causes one to question the commonly held assumption (at least perhaps among whites) that all of the issues involving forced segregation and the negative consequences that flowed therefrom more or less evaporated in 1954 or shortly thereafter. Quite to the contrary; the book shows how; in may ways (though obviously not in all); there are almost more similarities between the state of American education and race relations between; say; 1953 and today than there are dissimilarities. In that sense; the Brown case may have accomplished a whole lot less than is commonly imagined. For this reason alone; the book is valuable. I did have two qualms with the book however. The more trivial one is that I thought that the numerous statistics were confusingly presented; perhaps because the author tried to summarize them in prose rather than in charts. There were repeated times that I had to re-read those portions of the book and I feel that that was mostly because the author did not do a good job of clearly summarizing the statistical information for his readers. I feel that the use of charts would have been more helpful (and perhaps more dramatic as well in terms of proving the author's points). My other complaint goes to the issue of the remedy to the problem. It seems to me (and I think that the author concedes as much) that a good portion of the reason for the problems that exist today relate to changes in demographics; culture and societal forces which are beyond the power of the courts or the legislature to change--just as some judges and commentators have stated. To be sure; these changes include white flight to the suburbs; but nevertheless people live where they live and little can be done about that. Thus; in that sense; to the extent that most children attend schools in which their own race predominates (as in the pre-Brown days); I'm not sure that I would call that a "failure" or a "broken promise" of the Brown decision. The author seems to take this point as a given; but then proceeds to say that we should not give up; that we should keep trying to fulfill the promises of the Brown case notwithstanding that; that we should search for the harder solution. One possibility for that solution is of course a modified "separate but equal" solution in which separation still exists (though for societal reasons and not due to legally sanctioned segregation) but this time with true equality in terms of funding; teachers; facilities; etc. In other words; make the black schools just as good as the white schools. Irons seems to disapprove of this solution on a number of grounds; and I tend to agree with him. As Thurgood Marshall stated; the idea and the ideal is true integration between the races and NOT separate but equal; even if there were true "equality" in the senses I have stated. But; if we rule out this possibility; doesn't this leave only one other possibility; that being busing? Irons never comes right out and advocates a return to the days of busing (perhaps because it remains a political hot button issue); but it seems to me that there is no other alternative which he leaves open to us. With that in mind; I would have preferred him to come out more directly and specifically with his own solution to the problem which he lays out so well. I believe that the only solution he leaves us with is busing; but he seems reluctant to come out and say that in so many words. If that his solution however; I think that the book would have benefitted from a discussion as to how busing might work today and how it might overcome the problems it faced in the 1970's. On the other hand; if he has in mind some other solution; I would have liked him to say what that is.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. WonderfulBy stephanieGreat read. I have found this text useful in my work and it is a great supplemental resource for schools and other types of organizations
