I freed myself : African American self-emancipation in the Civil War era
Title:
I freed myself : African American self-emancipation in the Civil War era
Author:
Publication Information:
New York : Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Physical Description:
x, 266 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Bibliography Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Introduction: Following the footsteps of the slaves : They are freeing themselves ; A story too long in the shadows -- 1. "Yes, we all shall be free": pressing the nation toward freedom : Slavery without submission ; Contesting northern slavery ; Preparing to meet the crisis ; More cases of insubordination than ever ; Insurrection and the knell of slavery -- 2. "Shedding the first blood": forcing a war for freedom : The enemy at home ; Blind, unreasoning prejudice ; Impossible to keep them outside our lines ; They say they are free ; What shall we do with the contrabands? ; A new departure for the president ; A half-way measure -- 3. "Ready to die for liberty": expanding the boundaries of freedom : They know everything that happens ; Unoffending Negroes brutally assailed ; We will fight for our rights and liberty ; Entering the army by hundreds and thousands ; We did our duty as men ; They treat the men like dogs ; Little aid from the government -- 4. "Full equality before the law": claiming the rights of freedom : The "faithful slave" is about played out ; Ready to help anybody opposed to the rebels ; We has a right to the land ; Southern Negroes must stay where they are ; It is enough to free them ; A partial emancipation unworthy of the name -- 5. "All we ask is justice": continuing struggles for freedom : Demanding absolute legal equality ; The old slave laws remain unrepealed ; Every man who voted was watched ; Rebel rule is now nearly complete ; But I kept on.
Abstract:
"For a century and a half, Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation has been the dominant narrative of African American freedom in the Civil War era. However, David Williams suggests that this portrayal marginalizes the role that African American slaves played in freeing themselves. At the Civil War's outset, Lincoln made clear his intent was to save the Union rather than free slaves - despite his personal distaste for slavery, he claimed no authority to interfere with the institution. By the second year of the war, though, when the Union army was in desperate need of black support, former slaves who escaped to Union lines struck a bargain: they would fight for the Union only if they were granted their freedom. Williams importantly demonstrates that freedom was not simply the absence of slavery but rather a dynamic process enacted by self-emancipated African American refugees, which compelled Lincoln to modify his war aims and place black freedom at the center of his wartime policies."--Publisher information.
