Slavery And Freedom: An Interpretation of the Old South

by James Oakes

This pathbreaking interpretation of the slaveholding South begins with the insight that slavery and freedom were not mutually exclusive but were intertwined in every dimension of life in the South. James Oakes traces the implications of this insight for relations between masters and slaves, slaveholders and non-slaveholders, and for the rise of a racist ideology.

Genres: History, American History, Race, Nonfiction

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

James Oakes is the author of several acclaimed books on slavery and the Civil War. His most recent book, Freedom National, won the Lincoln Prize and was a long-list selection for the National Book Award. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Oolalaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

15/20

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning exploration of the relationship between slavery and capitalism - the margins of my copy are filled with exclamation points, both where I agree and disagree with Oakes. Oakes synchronizes a large body of literature, bringing together economic, political, social, and legal history, to understand how slavery accommodated and challenged a democratizing country. Some of the material, particularly involving the treatment of enslaved people, is by now very familiar, and he does not elaborate too much, although his interpretation of slave revolt is intriguing and novel. His prior work on the lives of slaveholders is also perhaps overemphasized. despite being thirty years old, this book feels very relevant, particularly in light of the debates over the NYT’s 1619 Project and the “New History of Capitalism.” Oakes has done a magnificent job of interpreting American slavery, in a moral and philosophical context.

[Scott Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that slaveholders promoted ideals that the Tea Party now embraces (sanctity of private property; supremacy of individual rights; limitation of federal government) to justify slavery during the decades leading up to the Civil War certainly gives one pause. In explaining their cause, Tea Party enthusiasts rely heavily on economists and social commentators from Europe (F. A. Hayek; Ayn Rand) who passionately wrote about the terrors of totalitarianism that inflicted Europe during the 20th century. Yet they ignore our own history of slavery (the ultimate form of totalitarianism) in the 19th century, and the fact that slavery's proponents championed the exact same rhetoric that they hold so dear today.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read for HIS 257)

James Oakes book is packed with an interesting narrative of the abolitionist viewpoint and how it entaggles itself with liberal capitalism. While I do not entirely agree with the full abolitionist take on the cause of the Civil War, there were many intriging elements Oakes delves into.

Chapter 1 does such an excellent job at defining American slavery; chapter 2 brilliantly links slavery and liberal capitalism; chap 3 is where I start to fall off - I understand the connection with the Yeomen, but it just seemed to drag on a bit and diverge from his central thesis; chap 4 is the most rich of the chapters (it was my favorite to read, but HEAVY with knowledge pertaining to slave rebellion, politics, religion, and culture).

Overall, such a facinating read! I like what Oakes is putting down. While I would extend some causation of the Civil War away from slavery (particularly in the North), I ate up all of the rich research and notions Oakes asserted between slavery and freedom!

[Alexander Abbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coronavirus Fiasco Book #6

Read this originally Junior or Senior year at UNI in slavery seminar class w/ Professor Wallace Hettle. Book is 30 years old now, published originally in 1990 and was only Oakes' second book. Really great for understanding slavery, freedom, and the Old South. Really like Chapter 1 which focuses on defining slavery and identifying the criteria that makes slavery slavery and Chapter 2 which connects slavery to capitalism.

This is definitely a book to be read again...sometimes its too deep. Some nice connections with Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, Calhoun class that I just finished.

Chapter 1: Outsiders
Chapter 2: Slavery and Liberal Capitalism
Chapter 3: Slaveholders and Nonslaveholders
Chapter 4: Slaves and Masters
Epilogue: The Meaning of the Civil War

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Slavery and Freedom' is James Oakes' second book, published in 1990, a more abstract analysis of the ideological conflict between slavery and freedom, master and enslaved, slaveholders and yeoman farmers -- more abstract than his more recent works about antebellum slavery politics, Lincoln, and the Civil War.

White freedom was defined by Black enslavement. Racism served to enslave Black people in a liberal society, and racism was the all-important device to paper over class divisions among whites within antebellum and postwar Southern society. At 228 pages, this is a useful book to begin studying the causes and meaning of the Civil War.

[James Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent, valuable reading experience. Oakes provided me with a general discussion of the nuts and bolts of slavery. But more, gave me perspectives on how the new European consumerism in the age of empire made slavery in the South and elsewhere acceptable. By explaining how slavery in its insatiable urge to expand westward became a threat to the legitimacy of free wage labor in the north he described how the competition between capitalism and slavery resulted in the Civil War. And convincingly makes his case that the war was first and foremost about slavery. Like Steven Hahn in The Political Worlds of Slavery and Freedom, Oakes wrote about the rush of slaves to safety and freedom behind Union lines. Using the word resistance rather than rebellion he explains its significance as bringing about the internal collapse of the Southern social structure and thus the defeat of the Confederacy.

[Starbubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm probably going to have to read this one again. I skimmed this, and truly, it's too dense of a read to skim. All of my questions would have been answered if I had read like an actual person and not a grad student.

This is an extremely thorough book, and responds to a lot of other historians' works. But to know that he is rebutting or using other works, you would have had to of read them all before this book. I was excited to have read some of those works beforehand myself, (like Patterson's Social Death made an appearance) it's like uncovering treasure. Despite this book defining slavery and looking deep into the Old South, this is not a book that you can pick up as an introduction to Sectionalism and Slavery in Antebellum America.

[Colleen Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always learn a lot from James Oakes' books. His writing is smooth and concise and enjoyable to read. The book explains exactly what a slave is- by explaining what a slave is not- the way slaveholders in the South did. If you are not free, you are unfree. Enslaved persons in the antebellum South enjoyed none of the rights taken for granted by the whites in the country. They suffered a social death. They were denied familial relationships, had no right to privacy on any level, and no stake in their children's futures because those rights were held by the master. There is so much knowledge in a short book that I could fill up pages- My advice is for any student of American history to read this book. I intend to keep this book with me as a reference and to re-read. Highly recommend.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some thought-provoking interpretation on the connection between freedom and slavery in the south in the Antebellum years. The type of history book that gives you those 'aha' moments where you read something that Oakes writes and immediately have a better understanding of something you've never really given much thought to before such as the connection between state and federal laws and slavery. Would have wanted a little more in the book on people and events we cover in the high school classroom as it is slightly more geared toward the college student.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in preparation for teaching To Kill A Mockingbird. Found it very informative on the weird dynamics that shaped Southern slaver society - not knowing much about the time period, the area or the history, I never really gave much thought to the different strata of society who could have been at odds with the plantation owners. This book provided a great deal of insight into the situation and how it panned out.

[Casey · Rating 1 out of 5]

bleck all of my books are required by school.

[Eve Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent analysis of the culture and society of the Civil War era, and the influence it had on race and class in America today.

[Ben Brandenburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freedom is slavery turned upside down.

[Paige Bradish · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't really say much about this book. I did read it but I only read it for school so I can't write a review.

[AskHistorians]

Oakes' is a very readable study of the concept of Slavery and Freedom in the antebellum south.