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Local Matters: Race, Crime, and Justice in the Nineteenth-Century South (Studies in the Legal History of the South)

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After reading this book, one becomes aware of the importance of boundaries in nineteenth-century southern society. These boundaries include those between blacks and whites, master and slave, men and women, rich and poor, and public and private. The respective essays in this book deal with those boundaries--the way they were constructed, contested, and often breached as the uneasy relationship between race and law developed in nineteenth-century South. They do so, however, at the local level, which adds a degree of richness and textuality to the story. By focusing on the local level, the contributors to this volume show that the relationship between race and law was indeed a "local matter" which was an active, everyday matter for individuals and communities who maintained and challenged the boundaries of race through law.

The most important boundaries in the antebellum South were those between public and private life, and master and slave. The essay by Sally Hadden discusses the case of "State v. Mann" in North Carolina. In this case, Justice Thomas Ruffin sympathized with abused and murdered slaves but upheld the idea that government could not interfere with the private lives of slave owners, which threatened to unsettle the power relationship between master and slave.

Many readers should find the overriding focus on "local matters" enjoyable. Arelia Gross's essay on Natchez, Mississippi, for example, reveals important connections between the courthouse and the slave auction block, both of which stood as opportunities for white men to display their sense of honor, which was directly tied to their status as slave-owners. By focusing on more local contexts, the book's contributors are able to provide richly-researched essays that give the story of race and law concrete meaning and everyday implications.

While the essays in this book are arranged in rough chronological order, the themes in the essays overlap in many cases, making the volume a rich resource for both scholars and the general public. Readers should gain an appreciate for the historical developments involving race and law in the nineteenth century after readings this volume. It is an insightful volume, one that shows how power was created and challenged in a system of racial oppression sanctified by law. All of the essays are well-researched and well-written, and give readers solid analysis of the culture of race and law.