Working Toward Freedom : Slave Society and Domestic Economy in the American South

The opportunity for slaves to produce goods, for their own use or for sale, facilitated the development of a domestic economy largely independent of their masters and the wider white community. Drawing from a range of primary sources, these essays show how slaves organised their domestic economy and created an economic and social space for themselves under slavery which profoundly affected family and gender relations. In their efforts to protect the integrity of their families they became primary actors in their preparation for freedom. Selected and revised for publication, this collection of essays stems from the University of Rochester conference, "African-American Work and Culture in the 18th and 19th Centuries." Contributors include: Josephine A. Beoku Betts, Kenneth L. Brown, John Campbell, Cheryll Ann Cody, Mary Beth Corrigan, Stanley, L. Engerman, Sharon Ann Holt, Larry E. Hudson Jr, Robert Olwell, Lorena S. Walsh Drawing From A Range Of Primary Sources, These Essays Show How Slaves Organized Their Domestic Economy And Created An Economic And Social Space For Themselves Under Slavery. They Explore How Their Activities Within This Space Impacted Upon The Social Structure Of The Slave Community, Profoundly Affecting Family And Gender Relations. By Exploiting Their Opportunities To Provide For More Than A Modicum Of Their Own Needs, These Slaves Re-established Their Deep Attachment To The Family; And, In Their Efforts To Protect The Integrity Of Their Families, They Became Primary Actors In Their Preparation For Freedom.--jacket. A Place In Time Regained : A Fuller History Of Colonial Chesapeake Slavery Through Group Biography / Lorena S. Walsh -- A Reckoning Of Accounts : Patriarchy, Market Relations, And Control On Henry Lauren's Lowcountry Plantations, 1762-1785 / Robert Olwell -- My Constant Companion : Slaves And Their Dogs In The Antebellum South / John Campbell -- All That Cash : Work And Status In The Slave Quarters / Larry E. Hudson Jr. -- Material Culture And Community Structure : The Slave And Tenant Community At Levi Jordans' Plantation, 1848-1892 / Kenneth L. Brown -- Sale And Separation : Four Crises For Enslaved Women On The Ball Plantations, 1764-1854 / Cheryll Ann Cody -- Rais Your Children Up Rite : Parental Guidance And Child Rearing Practices Among Slaves In The Nineteenth-century South / Wilma King -- It's A Family Affair : Buying Freedom In The District Of Columbia, 1850-1860 / Mary Beth Corrigan -- Symbol, Memory, And Service : Resistance And Family Formation In Nineteenth-century African America / Sharon Ann Holt -- She Make Funny Flat Cake She Call Saraka : Gullah Women And Food Practices Under Slavery / Josephine A. Beoku-betts -- Concluding Reflections / Stanley L. Engerman. Edited By Larry E. Hudson Jr. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Slaves had, sometimes, the opportunity to produce their own goods. These studies demonstrate the importance of that economy in reinforcing family ties and preparation for freedom.