| I Freed Myself: African American Self-Emancipation in the Civil War Era Contributor(s): Williams, David (Author) |
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ISBN: 1107602491 ISBN-13: 9781107602496 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $28.79 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2014 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - 19th Century - History | United States - Civil War Period (1850-1877) |
| Dewey: 973.708 |
| Physical Information: 0.9" H x 5.9" W x 8.9" (0.85 lbs) 275 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 19th Century - Chronological Period - 1851-1899 - Topical - Civil War |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: 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. |
Contributor Bio(s): Williams, David: - David Williams is Professor of History at Valdosta State University in Georgia, where he specializes in the Civil War era and the antebellum South. He is the author of ten books, including Bitterly Divided: The South's Inner Civil War and A People's History of the Civil War. |