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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Highly Recommended, Scholarly Study of Slavery, February 20, 2001
This review is from: Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation (Hardcover)
A study of this magnitude can only be described as ground breaking and powerful. Larry Eugene Rivers interprets and analyzes the Florida slave's experience in startling, inspiring, and rewarding ways. The author certainly raises the bar for future state studies of slavery. A model study that should be emulated by other scholars seeking to update and revise studies of slavery in those states that had enslaved blacks during the antebellum period. Rivers presents his work in a scholarly, readable, and evenhanded manner. The author named names; he treated enslaved blacks as human beings. The voices and humanity of enslaved blacks come through loud and clear in this study. The reviewer can see why "Slavery In Florida" is the fourth most purchased book in Tallahassee, Florida through AMAZON.COM. and why it has already won a national book award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association in the notification category. "Slavery In Florida" is a highly original and stimulating interpretation of the contact between Native Americans (Seminoles), enslaved blacks, and Anglo Americans during the period from 1821 to 1865. Read this gracefully written book and judge for yourself.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A most read for any Floridian, October 6, 2002
Dr. Larry Rivers has really put together a wonderful research on the institution of slavery. A lot of the information that he provides about slavery is not necessarily new information. What makes this research so good and so important is that he puts it against the background of Florida. Whenever the institution of slavery is discussed, the state of Florida is not the first or the last state that is mention in the discussion. However, with this book Dr. Rivers has made Florida one of the most important states in terms of the developments of the institutions of slavery. The scope of this book ranges from the year 1500- 1865. This study begins with Florida when it was still a territory of Spain. It is here that the author tries to piece together the African presents in Florida before the institution of slavery is established. The author uses a wide range of sources to his point. He utilizes a lot of researched that focuses on Africans who were free when they first set foot in Florida. He uses sources from historians who have done extensive research in Florida such as Jane L. Landers of Vanderbilt University and Canter Brown of Florida A&M University. This to me adds validity to this book and this study. The rest of the chapters of this book provide a lot of information that is not nessccary new information in terms of slavery. There have been many studies conducted on slave resistance, on slave condition, slave families, etc. However, there has never been such a study done in regards to Florida and slavery. I am a Floridian by birth and a historian by profession and the way that this booked flowed had me on the edge of my seat at all times. I knew about slavery and about slave conditions, but to read about slavery and slave condition in an area that I am familiar with was very riveting. The information provided about Gadsden and Jackson counties were very valuable to me because I grew-up in those counties. I am sure anyone that has looked at this research and has family ties to Florida would feel the same way. The sources that he uses throughout this book I think are very appropriate. Each one is used to magnify his point. I really love the slave narratives because they reflect a truth that is not tainted by modern society need to be politically correct. The author uses several quotes from a former Jackson County bondswoman by the name of Margrett Nickerson. Her quotes to me are beautiful because they reflect her grammar of speech and you can almost feel her tone of voice as she reflects about her experiences as a bondservant. Since the author uses so many different sources, it is hard to say if he neglected any appropriate sources. I would think that he used so many different sources because he did not want to be accused of not using enough sources. Overall, I think that this is an excellent book. As a Floridian, I really appreciate this book because it helps me to better understand the environment that I grew up.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thorough Study of Slavery in Florida, January 4, 2001
This review is from: Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation (Hardcover)
I found this book, Slavery In Florida: Territorial Days To Emancipation, to be a deeply researched, beautifully written, and well grounded book on the peculiar institution in Florida from 1821 to 1865. This study presents the story of slavery from both the perspective of the bond servant and the master. The book covers every aspect of slavery in Florida. Among the chapters are those that focus on the slave family, religion and community, physical treatment of bond servants, slave resistance, and the participation of enslaved blacks in the Civil War. Rivers presents an engaging analysis of race relations during the territorial and statehood periods in Florida. Particulary, he discusses the relationship between enslaved blacks, Native Americans, and whites in an even-handed yet critical manner. Readers will find the voices of slave men, women, and children throughout this study. Rivers used the Federal Writers Project WPA interviews of former slaves as well as other newspaper interviews with former bond servants to described "what slavery was like" in Florida from the viewpoint of the enslaved black. From the extensive endnotes, the author apparently used hundreds if not thousands of probate records, appraisals, and inventories to describe the slave family. Given the cruelty of slavery, Rivers argues that enslaved blacks were still able to carve out some semblance of family, connected with generations of kinfolk. Rivers presents convincing evidence that bond servants were far from being passive victims. They were sometimes successful in getting concessions from masters concerning family matters, work routines, and religious worship. Some readers might find insightful Rivers' suggestion that the largest slave rebellion in the antebellum South was not the Nat Turner insurrection, but the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), where the majority of the warriors consisted of runaway slaves from Florida and state to the north. Apparently this is what General Thomas Jesup thought when he declared this battle to be "a negro and not an Indian War" (p. 204). In describing enslaved blacks and whites, Rivers further gives a balanced assessment of the human frailties as well as strenghts of both groups. I found this refreshing since most studies paint all whites as the bad guys and all blacks without a blemish. Anyone knowledgeable of the historiography of the antebellum South will quickly notice that Rivers includes the latest scholarship on slavery. As an avid reader of books on slavery, this is, in fact, one of the best books I have read on the topic in years. It should serve as a model for other state studies. I hope someone will read Rivers' book and use it as a guide to do a study of antebellum slavery in my state of Delaware (which has yet to be done). Slavery In Florida is a gripping read, and I give it five stars.
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