Beyond Slavery's Shadow

“A meticulously researched and insightful book that builds on the work of scholars of slavery, early American history, U.S. history, and the Civil War.”—Journal of the Civil War Era

“Almost every American history textbook even today tells a story of pervasive, unwavering, ever-deepening persecution of free people of color, but also of formidable achievements by those same people, with no attempt to explain how the latter—which actually did happen—could occur under the full weight of the former. Beyond Slavery’s Shadow is Milteer’s assiduously researched effort to redress this state of affairs. . . . [A]n impressive achievement.”—Journal of the Early Republic

“Milteer demonstrates how free people of color pursued and often achieved meaningful freedom in an oppressive society and provides a welcome update to the broader discussion of freedom and slavery in the antebellum American South.”—Journal of Social History

“[Milteer] skillfully reveals the sometimes-intersecting values of whites and free people of color . . . and then provides a framework for understanding them.”—Journal of Southern History

“[Milteer] masterfully combines a general synthesis with distinct local histories. What emerges is a comprehensive picture that stresses the diversity of the American experience.”—Slavery & Abolition

“This pioneering work is far from being a mundane read. Milteer’s study introduces important scholarship on free people of color and is positively on the nod.”—Journal of African American History

“Milteer . . . sheds light on a relatively unknown topic in the history of the United States. . . . His work is an important read to fill this gap in knowledge.”—Civil War Book Review

“Synthesizing local histories and individual stories, Milteer opens to interested readers a fresh vista of a more complicated history of the South and the position of people of color, with implications for the 21st century.”—Library Journal

“Recommended . . . Milteer demonstrates important distinctions between the rhetoric and actual practice of regulating free people of color and how their experiences differed by location, whether in rural or urban areas, the upper or lower South, or former English or Spanish colonies.”—CHOICE

“A well-documented and written exploration of the free people of color in the southern United States.”—Southwestern Historical Quarterly