Publisher Description
“If it is possible to understand the American paradox, the marriage of slavery and freedom, Virginia is surely the place to begin,” writes Edmund S. Morgan in American Slavery, American Freedom, a study of the tragic contradiction at the core of America. Morgan finds the key to this central paradox in the people and politics of the state that was both the birthplace of the revolution and the largest slaveholding state in the country. With a new introduction. Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize and the Albert J. Beveridge Award.
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“Although not a new book, it is spot-on about the centrality of slavery to so-called ‘American democracy’. Morgan concentrates on colonial Virginia, and shows how the use of slave labour by white farmers/plantation owners became established side by side with ‘democratic’ institutions in the 18th century. In a way, the cheap labour provided by African and African-American slaves made possible the democratic ‘rights’ and processes enjoyed by free, white Americans. The connection between slavery and democracy was subsequently mirrored in the American constitution of 1787, and in the contradiction inherent in the early American republic: unique political rights for some Americans associated with permanent slavery for other (black) Americans. A good read too!”
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Michael (5 out of 5 stars)
