Land and Labor; 1866-1867 examines the remaking of the South's labor system in the tumultuous aftermath of emancipation. Using documents selected from the National Archives; this volume of Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation depicts the struggle of unenfranchised and impoverished ex-slaves to control their own labor; establish their families as viable economic units; and secure independent possession of land. Among the topics addressed are the dispossession of settlers in the Sherman reserve; the reordering of labor on plantation and farm; nonagricultural labor; new relations of credit and debt; long-distance labor migration; and the efforts of former slaves to rent; purchase; and homestead land. The documents--many of them in the freedpeople's own words--speak eloquently for themselves; while the editors' interpretive essays provide context and illuminate major themes.
#2674856 in Books 2012-04-06 10.00 x .43 x 7.00l; #File Name: 1463579772188 pages
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