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Slavery and Freedom in Delaware, 1639-1865

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Slavery took place in Delaware while its men fought with the North during the Civil War. While most blacks in Delaware experienced a degree of freedom, there were still a large number of closely guarded and controlled slaves kept by owners in the state. This scholarly, sometimes data-heavy book recalls the rarely-examined and somehow contradictory life of slaves from the time of Dutch colonization to the end of the Civil War, using historical records including family records, financial reports, bills of sale and the words of free, indentured or enslaved blacks from the period. This is an important work that illuminates an issue of war that was far more complicated than the uniform subjugation of a race. It talks the lives of people under sometimes conflicting laws within a neutral state with southern heritage and northern leanings, with die-hard abolitionists and powerful businessmen who required slaves to keep their businesses running and, in turn, the Delaware economy moving. Many of the great national issues that tore the country apart during this period are experienced and dealt with in the microcosm that is the First State. This book is a necessary part of understanding Black History in America and I strongly recommend you read it.