Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas (Harvard Historical Studies)

Obscured from our view of slaves and masters in America is a critical third party: the state, with its coercive power. This book expands the grim picture of slavery by showing us the origins, the nature, and the extent of slave patrols in Virginia and the Carolinas from the late 17th century through the end of the Civil War. "Obscured from our view of slaves and masters in America is a critical third party: the state, with its coercive power. This book completes the grim picture of slavery by showing us the origins, the nature, and the extent of slave patrols in Virginia and the Carolinas from the late seventeenth century through the end of the Civil War. Here we see how the patrols, formed by county courts and state militias, were the closest enforcers of codes of governing slaves throughout the South.". "Mining a variety of sources, Sally Hadden presents the views of both patrollers and slaves as she depicts the patrols, composed of "respectable" members of society as well as poor whites, often mounted and armed with whips and guns, exerting a brutal and archaic brand of racial control inextricably linked to post-Civil War vigilantism and the Ku Klux Klan. City councils also used patrollers before the war, and police forces afterward, to impose their version of race relations across the South, making the entire region, not just plantations, an armed camp where slave workers were controlled through terror and brutality."--BOOK JACKET. Publisher Marketing: Obscured from our view of slaves and masters in America is a critical third party: the state, with its coercive power. This book completes the grim picture of slavery by showing us the origins, the nature, and the extent of slave patrols in Virginia and the Carolinas from the late seventeenth century through the end of the Civil War. Here we see how the patrols, formed by county courts and state militias, were the closest enforcers of codes governing slaves throughout the South. Mining a variety of sources, Sally Hadden presents the views of both patrollers and slaves as she depicts the patrols, composed of "respectable" members of society as well as poor whites, often mounted and armed with whips and guns, exerting a brutal and archaic brand of racial control inextricably linked to post-Civil War vigilantism and the Ku Klux Klan. City councils also used patrollers before the war, and police forces afterward, to impose their version of race relations across the South, making the entire region, not just plantations, an armed camp where slave workers were controlled through terror and brutality "Obscured from our view of slaves and masters in America is acritical third party: the state, with its coercive power. This bookcompletes the grim picture of slavery by showing us the origins,the nature, and the extent of slave patrols in Virginia and theCarolinas from the late seventeenth century through the end of theCivil War. Here we see how the patrols, formed by county courts andstate militias, were the closest enforcers of codes governingslaves throughout the South. Mining a variety of sources,Sally Hadden presents the views of both patrollersand slaves as she depicts the patrols, composed of "respectable"members of society as well as poor whites, often mounted and armedwith whips and guns, exerting a brutal and archaic brand of racialcontrol inextricably linked to post-Civil War vigilantism and theKu Klux Klan. City councils also used patrollers before the war,and police forces afterward, to impose their version of racerelations across the South, making the entire region, not justplantations, an armed camp where slave workers were controlledthrough terror and brutality." Hadden Examines The Patrols, The Most Frequent Enforcers Of The Laws Involving Slaves, And How They Influenced Race Relations And The Ku Klux Klan After The Civil War. Introduction: Of Perpetrators And Police -- 1. Colonial Beginnings And Experiments -- 2. Supervising Patrollers In Town And Country -- 3. Patrol Personnel: They Jes' Like Policemen, Only Worser -- 4. In Times Of Tranquility: Everyday Slave Patrols -- 5. In Times Of Crisis: Patrols During Rebellions And Wars -- 6. Patrollers No More: The Civil War Era -- Epilogue: Black Freedom, White Violence: Patrols, Police, And The Klan. Sally E. Hadden. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 321-330) And Index. This book completes the grim picture of slavery by showing us the origins, the nature, and the extent of slave patrols in Virginia and the Carolinas from the late 17th century through the end of the Civil War.