Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
Cover of the book Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark ISBN: 9780393245486
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: April 17, 1986
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
ISBN: 9780393245486
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: April 17, 1986
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

"A remarkably fine work of creative scholarship." —C. Vann Woodward, New York Review of Books

In 1860, when four million African Americans were enslaved, a quarter-million others, including William Ellison, were "free people of color." But Ellison was remarkable. Born a slave, his experience spans the history of the South from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. In a day when most Americans, black and white, worked the soil, barely scraping together a living, Ellison was a cotton-gin maker—a master craftsman. When nearly all free blacks were destitute, Ellison was wealthy and well-established. He owned a large plantation and more slaves than all but the richest white planters.

While Ellison was exceptional in many respects, the story of his life sheds light on the collective experience of African Americans in the antebellum South to whom he remained bound by race. His family history emphasizes the fine line separating freedom from slavery.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"A remarkably fine work of creative scholarship." —C. Vann Woodward, New York Review of Books

In 1860, when four million African Americans were enslaved, a quarter-million others, including William Ellison, were "free people of color." But Ellison was remarkable. Born a slave, his experience spans the history of the South from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. In a day when most Americans, black and white, worked the soil, barely scraping together a living, Ellison was a cotton-gin maker—a master craftsman. When nearly all free blacks were destitute, Ellison was wealthy and well-established. He owned a large plantation and more slaves than all but the richest white planters.

While Ellison was exceptional in many respects, the story of his life sheds light on the collective experience of African Americans in the antebellum South to whom he remained bound by race. His family history emphasizes the fine line separating freedom from slavery.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book Cockroach: A Novel by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book What Are They Thinking?!: The Straight Facts about the Risk-Taking, Social-Networking, Still-Developing Teen Brain by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book My Life as a Foreign Country: A Memoir by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book October, or Autumnal Tints by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book The Language of Things: Understanding the World of Desirable Objects by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book Affect Regulation Theory: A Clinical Model (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book Posthumous Keats: A Personal Biography by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book Engine Empire: Poems by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book The China Mission: George Marshall's Unfinished War, 1945-1947 by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book Food City: Four Centuries of Food-Making in New York by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
Cover of the book Escalante's Dream: On the Trail of the Spanish Discovery of the Southwest by Michael P. Johnson, James L. Roark
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy