The Cotton Kingdom: A Traveller's Observations On Cotton And Slavery In The American Slave States, 1853-1861 [Paperback]

Frederick Law Olmsted (Author), Arthur M. Schlesinger (Editor, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 1996

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) is best known for designing parks in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Chicago, Boston, and the grounds of the Capitol in Washington. But before he embarked upon his career as the nation's foremost landscape architect, he was a correspondent for theNew York Times, and it was under its auspices that he journeyed through the slave states in the 1850s. His day-by-day observations—including intimate accounts of the daily lives of masters and slaves, the operation of the plantation system, and the pernicious effects of slavery on all classes of society, black and white—were largely collected in The Cotton Kingdom. Published in 1861, just as the Southern states were storming out of the Union, it has been hailed ever since as singularly fair and authentic, an unparalleled account of America's "peculiar institution."

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About the Author

1822-1903

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 716 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 22, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306807238
• ISBN-13: 978-0306807237
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE SOUTH ON THE EVE OF THE CIVIL WAR, June 23, 2002

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events3 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cotton Kingdom (Paperback)

Frederick Law Olmstead travelled extensively throughout the south during the antebellum period, as reflected in this book. He considered the effects of slavery on both blacks and whites and found it to have pernicious effects on both. Although written prior to the Civil War, the book (actually a series of extensive selections from the three original volumes based on his newspaper articles written during his travels)provides a rather indepth and refreshing look at well-known history and looks at the diverse roles played by blacks, white southerners, (and northerners!) in slavery. He also examines their views on the slave issue itself: some nascent Southern abolitionists and colonialists, as well as advocates of slavery, appeared rather intelligent and some otherwise. Many considered slavery an insoluble problem and others defended it as a necessary evil which benefitted blacks and whites alike(!). After completing his tour (including a rather interesting situation in which a black slave seriously injures a biracial runaway, has him clapped in irons and sent to jail - much to the amusement of some white southerners - & an enlightening discussion, especially in light of Talty's research showing persons of pure white descent, including adult foreigners and children who were originally indentured were kidnapped or illegally sold into slavery, of how demeanor would be an adequate determinant of whether or not a "white" slave was really free or not), he provides a critical analysis of slavery and its effects on the south.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE BETTER OF THIS GENRE, October 7, 2004

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D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cotton Kingdom: A Traveller's Observations On Cotton And Slavery In The American Slave States, 1853-1861 (Paperback)

This is one you will want to own and add to your collection. It is a wonderful first hand account by an American traveler, traveling through the Southern United States just prior to the Civil War. You have to remember the time in which it was written and take into concideration style, syntax, and most importantly, attitude. For the serious student of the Civil War, it is a must read and a must for the collection. Times were hard then, and this gives a great account of what one would have encountered at that time. This is one you will probably want to read twice, as a matter of fact. All in all, I highly recommend.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nifty printing idea--but book is overall ruined as a result, November 13, 2009

By 

Andariel Halo "Disillusioned Smark" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Cotton Kingdom (Civil War) (Paperback)

Note! This review is not of the book content itself, but of the specific printing The Cotton Kingdom (Civil War) published by Applewood Books in December 2008.


Their publishing is literally a photocopying of one of the original printings in the 1860s or some point on. Definitely before Olmsted's death, as it contains a foreward by the author covering new issues and responses to reactions of his work.


Every page between the covers is a photocopy of an original, from the text, to the author's note, to even advertisements for other books (at the shockingly high price of $1.25 for one in particular!). The pages even have circling and lines and markings done in them by the previous original owner, though these don't get in the way at all.

This is not only an astonishingly good idea for the sake of realism and an extreme example of sticking to the "Not one word ommitted!" dealy, but it gives a great, unvarnished, uninterpreted view into the literature and style of the 1860s in terms of writing and book commercialization and the like.



But there is a huge problem due to the fact that the pages are photocopied. Almost every other page has letters, or even entire words cut off on the left side margins of the text. This runs the gammut from splitting an "a" in half, to completely cutting out a small, but essential word that renders the reading slightly difficult, and even renders a few sentences completely incoherent or illegible.

As well, other pages are simply so badly faded, they are illegible.


Apparently, the copy makes reference to an appendix, and I'm not sure if it was included in the original printing or in other reprints, but this copy does not have an appendix of any sort.



The concept was great, but the execution done was mediocre generic print shop quality.