African American Southerners in Slavery, Civil War and Reconstruction

This work documents the many roles filled by Southern blacks in the last decades of slavery, the Civil War years, and the following period of Reconstruction. African Americans suffered and resisted bondage in virtually every aspect of their lives, but persevered through centuries of brutality to their present place at the center of American life. Utilizing statements made by former slaves and other sources close to them, the author takes a close look at the culture and lifestyle of this proud people in the final decades of slavery, their experiences of being in the military and fighting in the Civil War, and the active role taken by the Southern blacks during Reconstruction.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      viii
Introduction     

PART ONE: LAST DECADES OF SLAVERY
1. Cabins and Quarters; Food and Clothing     
2. Religion, Education, Medicine, and Recreation     
3. Marriage and the Family; Slave Trade and the Family     
4. Runaways; Crimes and Punishment     
5. Slave Labor and Labor Management     

PART TWO: CIVILWAR
6. Experience of War     
7. The Military and the Slaves     
8. Black Fighting Men     

PART THREE: RECONSTRUCTION
9. First Freedom     
10. Politics and the Ku Klux Klan     
11. Education and Religion     
12. Sharecroppers, Laborers, and Businessmen     

Notes     
Bibliographical Essay     
Index