| Black Life on the Mississippi: Slaves, Free Blacks, and the Western Steamboat World Contributor(s): Buchanan, Thomas C. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0807858137 ISBN-13: 9780807858134 Publisher: University of North Carolina Press OUR PRICE: $30.88 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2007 Annotation: The untold story of the experiences of slaves and free blacks who lived and worked on and near the Mississippi River during the 19th century, this book sheds new light on the ways African Americans resisted slavery and developed a vibrant culture and economy. The creative efforts of black steamboat workers to link riverside communities in the North and South facilitated family connections, slave escapes, and the transfer of stolen goods. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - 19th Century - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - History | Social History |
| Dewey: 977.020 |
| LCCN: 2004009859 |
| Physical Information: 0.67" H x 5.54" W x 9.15" (0.78 lbs) 272 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 19th Century - Ethnic Orientation - African American - Cultural Region - Mississippi River Basin - Cultural Region - Deep South - Cultural Region - Mid-South - Cultural Region - South - Geographic Orientation - Mississippi |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: All along the Mississippi--on country plantation landings, urban levees and quays, and the decks of steamboats--nineteenth-century African Americans worked and fought for their liberty amid the slave trade and the growth of the cotton South. Offering a counternarrative to Twain's well-known tale from the perspective of the pilothouse, Thomas C. Buchanan paints a more complete picture of the Mississippi, documenting the rich variety of experiences among slaves and free blacks who lived and worked on the lower decks and along the river during slavery, through the Civil War, and into emancipation. Buchanan explores the creative efforts of steamboat workers to link riverside African American communities in the North and South. The networks African Americans created allowed them to keep in touch with family members, help slaves escape, transfer stolen goods, and provide forms of income that were important to the survival of their communities. The author also details the struggles that took place within the steamboat work culture. Although the realities of white supremacy were still potent on the river, Buchanan shows how slaves, free blacks, and postemancipation freedpeople fought for better wages and treatment. By exploring the complex relationship between slavery and freedom, Buchanan sheds new light on the ways African Americans resisted slavery and developed a vibrant culture and economy up and down America's greatest river. All along the Mississippi--on country plantation landings, urban levees and quays, and the decks of steamboats--nineteenth-century African Americans worked and fought for their liberty amid the slave trade and the growth of the cotton South. Offering a counternarrative to Twain's well-known tale from the perspective of the pilothouse, Thomas Buchanan paints a more complete picture of the Mississippi, documenting the rich variety of experiences among slaves and free blacks who lived and worked on the lower decks and along the river during slavery, through the Civil War, and into emancipation. By exploring the complex relationship between slavery and freedom, Buchanan sheds new light on the ways African Americans resisted slavery and developed a vibrant culture and economy up and down America's greatest river. |
Contributor Bio(s): Buchanan, Thomas C.: - Thomas C. Buchanan is assistant professor of history at the University of Adelaide. |