About the book
Mastered by the Clock is the first work to explore the evolution of clock-based time consciousness in the American South. Challenging traditional assumptions about the plantation economy’s reliance on a premodern, nature-based conception of time, Mark M. Smith shows how and why southerners — particularly masters and their slaves — came to view the clock as a legitimate arbiter of time. Drawing on an extraordinary range of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century archival sources, Smith demonstrates that white southern slaveholders began to incorporate this new sense of time in the 1830s. Influenced by colonial merchants' fascination with time thrift, by a long-held familiarity with urban, public time, by the transport and market revolution in the South, and by their own qualified embrace of modernity, slaveowners began to purchase timepieces in growing numbers, adopting a clock-based conception of time and attempting in turn to instill a similar consciousness in their slaves. But, forbidden to own watches themselves, slaves did not internalize this idea to the same degree as their masters, and slaveholders found themselves dependent as much on the whip as on the clock when enforcing slaves' obedience to time. Ironically, Smith shows, freedom largely consolidated the dependence of masters as well as freedpeople on the clock.
Editions of Mastered by the Clock
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780807823446
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780807846933
- EBook
- ISBN 9798890869098
- EBook
- ISBN 9780807864579
Read an Excerpt
Mastered by the Clock is the first work to explore the evolution of clock-based time consciousness in the American South. Challenging traditional assumptions about the plantation economy’s reliance on a premodern, nature-based conception of time, Mark M. Smith shows how and why southerners — particularly masters and their slaves — came to view the clock as a legitimate arbiter of time. Drawing on an extraordinary range of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century archival sources, Smith demonstrates that white southern slaveholders began to incorporate this new sense of time in the 1830s. Influenced by colonial merchants' fascination with time thrift, by a long-held familiarity with urban, public time, by the transport and market revolution in the South, and by their own qualified embrace of modernity, slaveowners began to purchase timepieces in growing numbers, adopting a clock-based conception of time and attempting in turn to instill a similar consciousness in their slaves. But, forbidden to own watches themselves, slaves did not internalize this idea to the same degree as their masters, and slaveholders found themselves dependent as much on the whip as on the clock when enforcing slaves' obedience to time. Ironically, Smith shows, freedom largely consolidated the dependence of masters as well as freedpeople on the clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mastered by the Clock about?
Mastered by the Clock is the first work to explore the evolution of clock-based time consciousness in the American South. Challenging traditional assumptions about the plantation economy’s reliance on a premodern, nature-based conception of time, Mark M. Smith shows how and why southerners — particularly masters and their slaves — came to view the clock as a legitimate arbiter of time. Drawing on an extraordinary range of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century archival sources, Smith demonstrates that white southern slaveholders began to incorporate this new sense of time in the 1830s. Influenced by colonial merchants' fascination with time thrift, by a long-held familiarity with urban, public time, by the transport and market revolution in the South, and by their own qualified embrace of modernity, slaveowners began to purchase timepieces in growing numbers, adopting a clock-based conception of time and attempting in turn to instill a similar consciousness in their slaves. But, forbidden to own watches themselves, slaves did not internalize this idea to the same degree as their masters, and slaveholders found themselves dependent as much on the whip as on the clock when enforcing slaves' obedience to time. Ironically, Smith shows, freedom largely consolidated the dependence of masters as well as freedpeople on the clock.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Mastered by the Clock?
History and Archaeology > History > History of the Americas
Where can I read a sample of Mastered by the Clock?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780807823446
How long is Mastered by the Clock and how many pages does it have?
Mastered by the Clock has 328 page(s)
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Mastered by the Clock?
Mark M. Smith
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Mastered by the Clock is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780807823446) and paperback(ISBN 9780807846933) and ebook(ISBN 9798890869098) and ebook(ISBN 9780807864579)
Where can I buy Mastered by the Clock online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Mastered by the Clock from below
Where can I buy Mastered by the Clock?