Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861-1867

1104 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 13 halftones, notes, index

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-0742-9
Published: August 2013

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Hardcover $125.00

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Awards & distinctions

Thomas Jefferson Prize, Society for History in the Federal Government

Land and Labor, 1866-1867 examines the remaking of the South's labor system in the tumultuous aftermath of emancipation. Using documents selected from the National Archives, this volume of Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation depicts the struggle of unenfranchised and impoverished ex-slaves to control their own labor, establish their families as viable economic units, and secure independent possession of land. Among the topics addressed are the dispossession of settlers in the Sherman reserve, the reordering of labor on plantation and farm, nonagricultural labor, new relations of credit and debt, long-distance labor migration, and the efforts of former slaves to rent, purchase, and homestead land. The documents--many of them in the freedpeople's own words--speak eloquently for themselves, while the editors' interpretive essays provide context and illuminate major themes.

About the Authors

René Hayden is an independent scholar in Washington, D.C.
For more information about René Hayden, visit the Author Page.

Anthony E. Kaye is associate professor of history at Pennsylvania State University.
For more information about Anthony E. Kaye, visit the Author Page.

Kate Masur is associate professor of history and African American studies at Northwestern University.
For more information about Kate Masur, visit the Author Page.

Steven F. Miller is coeditor of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project at the University of Maryland.
For more information about Steven F. Miller, visit the Author Page.

Susan E. O'Donovan is associate professor of history at the University of Memphis.
For more information about Susan E. O'Donovan, visit the Author Page.

Leslie S. Rowland is associate professor of history at the University of Maryland and director of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project.
For more information about Leslie S. Rowland, visit the Author Page.

Stephen A. West is associate professor of history at the Catholic University of America.
For more information about Stephen A. West, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

“A stunning accomplishment. . . . These volumes ought to be required reading for every national political leader, as American race relations and so much subsequent American history resulted from the conflicts they document.”--Journal of American History

“Full of insights on the dynamics of land and labor in the critical first years following emancipation.”--Louisiana History