Them Dark Days : Slavery in the American Rice Swamps

In this groundbreaking book, Dusinberre conducts an intense investigation of slavery in the rice swamps of South Carolina and Georgia. Concentrated there were some of the richest--and most expansive--plantations of the South. It was an unhealthy region for both blacks and whites; slavery, in the swamps, was administered with particular severity. Focusing on three of the largest plantations, Dusinberre presents portraits of individuals, both black and white, who personify and exemplify the harsh realities of the slave system. Them Dark Days offers a vivid reconstruction of slavery in action; while it conveys the atmosphere and daily routine of the plantations, it also sets the analysis of slave culture within a wider context of health, discipline, privilege, and psychology. Contents......Page 14 I: GOWRIE: A MANIGAULT ESTATE......Page 16 1. Gentleman Capitalists......Page 18 2. Manigaults and Heywards......Page 43 3. The Charnel House......Page 63 4. Unhappy Families......Page 99 5. Dissidence......Page 137 6. Privilege......Page 193 II: BUTLER ISLAND......Page 226 7. Frances Kemble......Page 228 8. Mothers and Children......Page 250 9. Degradation......Page 263 10. Morale......Page 280 III: ROBERT ALLSTON'S PLANTATIONS......Page 298 11. The Capitalist as Rice Planter......Page 300 12. Coercion......Page 317 13. Privileged Slaves......Page 334 14. White Supremacy and Paternalist Theory......Page 365 IV: THE WIDER SCENE......Page 400 15. The Rice Kingdom......Page 402 16. Retrospect......Page 432 17. Slavery......Page 444 Appendixes......Page 452 Notes......Page 478 A......Page 556 B......Page 557 C......Page 558 D......Page 559 F......Page 560 G......Page 561 H......Page 562 J......Page 563 M......Page 564 O......Page 566 P......Page 567 R......Page 568 S......Page 569 W......Page 570 In this controversial, groundbreaking, and eloquently written book, William Dusinberre examines slavery in the rice swamps of the South Carolina and Georgia "low country". The antebellum rice kingdom's large plantations carried a political and social weight seldom recognized in later years. Focusing on three plantations and incorporating overseers' letters, slave testimonies, and numerous plantation sources, Dusinberre presents portraits of such fascinating individuals as the defiant slave carpenter Jack Savage and his master Charles Manigault, who exemplify the harsh realities of slavery. Them Dark Days offers a vivid reconstruction of slavery in action. Setting recent analyses of slave culture within a wider context of health, discipline, privilege, and psychology, the book casts a sharp new light on slave history. The book represents a close study of slavery in the rice plantations of South Carolina and Georgia. The emphasis is principally on the human relations of slavery, both black and white. The book presents unique insights on how the institution of slavery actually functioned in the Antebellum American South. Perhaps nowhere in the world can individual slaves and their masters be better seen than at "Gowrie," a Georgia rice plantation eight miles upstream from Savannah.