Two Interpretations of Slavery

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces, discusses, and analyzes the books "Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life" by Stanley Elkins, and "Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction" by James M. McPherson. The paper also contains a comparative analysis of Elkins' historical interpretation of slavery with McPherson's analysis.

From the Paper:

"Author Stanley Elkins first wrote this pivotal book on slavery in the South in 1959. It has been one of the leading works on slavery ever since then, with two revisions. The book still remains in print today, and is still argued for its theories and ideas. Elkins was the first author to actually look at how slavery affected the slaves, and that made his book forward thinking at the time it was written. Written before the Civil Rights agreements of the 1960s, and in the decade after World War II, Elkins views took Nazism and its ultimate control of the citizenry into account in his own theories, something that might have been altered today simply because of the passage of time. A liberal professor at Smith College, his views might have been seen as revolutionary for the time, but his research is thorough and his theories still hold water today. In fact, his third essay, known as the "Sambo" essay compared slaves during and after the Civil War to children, the black "Sambo" stereotype, and Nazi Germany, which many people decried and thus ignored (Roberts, 1999, p3)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Elkins, S. M. (1976). Slavery: A problem in American institutional and intellectual life. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
• McPherson, J.M. (2001). Ordeal by fire: The Civil War and reconstruction. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Roberts, K. African-Virginian extended kin: The prevalence of West African family forms among slaves in Virginia, 1740-1870. Retrieved 8 Feb. 2008 from the Virginia Tech Web site: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-041999-153416/unrestricted/etd.pdf.

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