Joining Places

Slave Neighborhoods in the Old South

By Anthony E. Kaye | Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press

About the book

In this new interpretation of antebellum slavery, Anthony Kaye offers a vivid portrait of slaves transforming adjoining plantations into slave neighborhoods. He describes men and women opening paths from their owners' plantations to adjacent farms to go courting and take spouses, to work, to run away, and to otherwise contend with owners and their agents. In the course of cultivating family ties, forging alliances, working, socializing, and storytelling, slaves fashioned their neighborhoods into the locus of slave society.

Joining Places is the first book about slavery to use the pension files of former soldiers in the Union army, a vast source of rich testimony by ex-slaves. From these detailed accounts, Kaye tells the stories of men and women in love, “sweethearting,” “taking up,” “living together,” and marrying across plantation lines; striving to get right with God; carving out neighborhoods as a terrain of struggle; and working to overthrow the slaveholders' regime. Kaye’s depiction of slaves' sense of place in the Natchez District of Mississippi reveals a slave society that comprised not a single, monolithic community but an archipelago of many neighborhoods. Demonstrating that such neighborhoods prevailed across the South, he reformulates ideas about slave marriage, resistance, independent production, paternalism, autonomy, and the slave community that have defined decades of scholarship.

Editions of Joining Places

Hardcover
ISBN 9780807831038
Paperback
ISBN 9780807861790
EBook
ISBN 9781469606149
EBook
ISBN 9780807877609
EBook
ISBN 9798893131277
PDF
ISBN 9798890873392

Read an Excerpt

In this new interpretation of antebellum slavery, Anthony Kaye offers a vivid portrait of slaves transforming adjoining plantations into slave neighborhoods. He describes men and women opening paths from their owners' plantations to adjacent farms to go courting and take spouses, to work, to run away, and to otherwise contend with owners and their agents. In the course of cultivating family ties, forging alliances, working, socializing, and storytelling, slaves fashioned their neighborhoods into the locus of slave society.

Joining Places is the first book about slavery to use the pension files of former soldiers in the Union army, a vast source of rich testimony by ex-slaves. From these detailed accounts, Kaye tells the stories of men and women in love, “sweethearting,” “taking up,” “living together,” and marrying across plantation lines; striving to get right with God; carving out neighborhoods as a terrain of struggle; and working to overthrow the slaveholders' regime. Kaye’s depiction of slaves' sense of place in the Natchez District of Mississippi reveals a slave society that comprised not a single, monolithic community but an archipelago of many neighborhoods. Demonstrating that such neighborhoods prevailed across the South, he reformulates ideas about slave marriage, resistance, independent production, paternalism, autonomy, and the slave community that have defined decades of scholarship.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Joining Places about?

In this new interpretation of antebellum slavery, Anthony Kaye offers a vivid portrait of slaves transforming adjoining plantations into slave neighborhoods. He describes men and women opening paths from their owners' plantations to adjacent farms to go courting and take spouses, to work, to run away, and to otherwise contend with owners and their agents. In the course of cultivating family ties, forging alliances, working, socializing, and storytelling, slaves fashioned their neighborhoods into the locus of slave society.

Joining Places is the first book about slavery to use the pension files of former soldiers in the Union army, a vast source of rich testimony by ex-slaves. From these detailed accounts, Kaye tells the stories of men and women in love, “sweethearting,” “taking up,” “living together,” and marrying across plantation lines; striving to get right with God; carving out neighborhoods as a terrain of struggle; and working to overthrow the slaveholders' regime. Kaye’s depiction of slaves' sense of place in the Natchez District of Mississippi reveals a slave society that comprised not a single, monolithic community but an archipelago of many neighborhoods. Demonstrating that such neighborhoods prevailed across the South, he reformulates ideas about slave marriage, resistance, independent production, paternalism, autonomy, and the slave community that have defined decades of scholarship.

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Joining Places?

Society and Social Sciences > Society and culture: general > Social groups, communities and identities > Ethnic studies / Ethnicity

Where can I read a sample of Joining Places?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780807831038

How long is Joining Places and how many pages does it have?

Joining Places has 376 page(s)

Is Joining Places part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?

Yes it is a part of series The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture

Who is/are the Author/s of the book Joining Places?

Anthony E. Kaye

Who is the Publisher of the book Joining Places?

The University of North Carolina Press

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

Joining Places is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780807831038) and paperback(ISBN 9780807861790) and ebook(ISBN 9781469606149) and ebook(ISBN 9780807877609) and ebook(ISBN 9798893131277) and pdf(ISBN 9798890873392)

Where can I buy Joining Places online or support local independent bookshops?

You can buy Joining Places from below

Where can I buy Joining Places?