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Peter Kolchin

American Slavery: 1619-1877 (10th Anniversary Edition) Paperback – September 1, 2003

by Peter Kolchin (Author, Preface, Afterword)

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The single best short survey in America, now updated.
Includes a New Preface and Afterward

In terms of accessibility and comprehensive coverage, Kolchin's American Slavery is a singularly important achievement. Now updated to address a decade of new scholarship, the book includes a new preface, afterword, and revised and expanded bibliographic essay. It remains the best book to introduce a subject of profound and lasting importance, one that lies at the center of American history.

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publication date

September 1, 2003
Dimensions

5.57 x 0.93 x 8.26 inches
ISBN-10

0809016303
ISBN-13

978-0809016303
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A miraculous achievement . . . A concise, well-written, and sensibly argued survey of America's greatest shame.” ―The New Yorker

“Peter Kolchin's American Slavery is the best history of the 'peculiar institution' that I have ever read. Paying equal attention to the slaves and the slaveholders, it is both comprehensive and fair-minded. A master of comparative history, Kolchin brilliantly shows how American slavery was similar to, and at the same time different from, forced labor in Brazil, the Caribbean, and Russia. His splendid bibliographical essay is an indispensable guide to the vast and complex literature on slavery.” ―David Herbert Donald, Charles Warren Professor of American History Emeritus, Harvard University

“This is a brilliant and masterful synthesis of scholarship on the history of slavery in America. Kolchin not only pulls together all the relevant literature but also strikes out with his own perceptive and trenchant analyses.” ―August Meier, Kent State University

“A feast of deftly crafted interpretations of the many interrelated dimensions of a most complex institution that shaped and deeply scarred American society. Kolchin's masterful survey is by far the best I have seen. It will be hard to surpass.” ―David Barry Gaspar, Duke University

About the Author

Peter Kolchin, the Henry Clay Reed Professor of History at the University of Delaware, is the author of numerous books, most recently A Sphinx on the American Land: The Nineteenth Century South in Comparative Perspective (2003).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hill and Wang; Revised edition (September 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0809016303
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0809016303
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.57 x 0.93 x 8.26 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #89,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Science Bibliographies & Indexes
- #5 in Historical Bibliographies & Indexes
- #557 in Discrimination & Racism

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Top reviews from the United States

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MeJay46

A Subject that Heartbeaking to Revisit

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book was pre-owned which was how it was advertised. It was acceptable and not shabby. The book arrived within a reasonable period of time as I was told it would.

2 people found this helpful

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Guillermo

Missing Important Details

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2020

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How does one write a book claiming to be this comprehensive without mention of Dred Scott (1857). The author leaves out other critical details and rushes past important events. A fair depiction of slavery but too much nodding to other historians and not enough focus on history.

One person found this helpful

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Jeremy

Excellent Primer on the Peculiar Institution

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2014

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This a top notch survey of the many aspects of American slavery. The book's author, Peter Kolchin, expertly presents readers with a good grasp on how historians' views on slavery have developed, where there is disagreement, and what areas need greater exploration. Its brevity and comprehensiveness make it a book which will serve as a guide for further reading. Kolchin further assists readers in that effort by providing a wonderful bibliographic essay at the end of his book. I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it to anyone interested in understanding the uniqueness of slavery in America.

9 people found this helpful

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LARRY

Well written concise overview of American Slavery

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2013

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This book is well written and looks at slavery origins; the Colonial Era; The American Revolution; Antebellum Slavery and The White South; and finally the End of Slavery. The book consist of 7 chapters and 300 pages of reading...This is a good historical look at slavery in the United States...get one for yourself and you decide.

5 people found this helpful

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Donisha White

Informative

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2021

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Purchased for a summer school class. Great read!

One person found this helpful

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Mary Beth Price

Well balanced history that provides a ton of insight in ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2016

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Well balanced history that provides a ton of insight in the current African American culture that is still practiced today. This should be the basis for high school study of the subject.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A fantastic look at the history of American slavery

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2016

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A fantastic look at the history of American slavery. Kolchin does a great job of showing the changes and defining practices of slavery.

3 people found this helpful

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Allysa Johnson

Strongly recommend for students!

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

I rented this book for my history class last semester and it was really helpful during my online exams and quizzes. It is concise and gives a lot of good information.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

S. Matthews

A Solid Overview

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2014

Verified Purchase

I was prompted to read this book, which provides an interesting and unbiased account of the history of American slavery from its colonial origins to the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War, after watching the excellent recent film 12 Years A Slave.

Neatly dividing the era of slavery into three specific periods, colonial slavery, revolutionary slavery and antebellum slavery, Peter Kolchin has summarised academic developments over several decades to provide a useful overview of the institution of slavery itself, its effect on both white and black Americans, and how the institution and its effects changed over time.

As I read the book, it dawned on me that I’d never really considered either the origins or the development of the slave system in the USA, although I’d have said I was familiar with it from studying certain literature and the American Civil War at school and from popular culture ever since. The book reveals that American slavery was neither homogenous nor static throughout the three periods it was in existence and that it developed over time, and that it was absolutely integral to the economy of the Southern colonies/states, becoming a millstone that held back the development of the South when compared to the more industrial North.

Kolchin argues that some aspects of slavery actually got more repressive as time went on, and that the restricted autonomy of slaves and racist prejudices of the owners got worse rather than better after the American Revolution. He explains how some forms of slavery were worse than others, and outlines how the Deep South developed a harsher slave environment than the Upper South. He also concentrates on the relationship between ‘Master’ and ‘Slave’, and the paternalistic attitude that many, but not all, owner’s had for their slaves. An interesting observation was the esteem in which former slaves interviewed both immediately and many decades after abolition held their former owners. Kolchin contrasts this with treatment meted out to freedmen after abolition, where the paternalism of the former relationship was removed and the same planters became bullies or worse.

The explanations of how slaves lived and developed their own communities over time were illuminating, as were the explanations of aspects of African-American culture that aren’t obviously explained such as the enthusiasm for protestant Christianity within black communities. I was also surprised to learn that the majority of slaves did not live on large plantations, but in much smaller groups, and how this in itself helped to prevent large-scale rebellion amongst the slaves, and that the natural birth-rate amongst slaves actually exceeded the number brought in by the slave trade.

At times, Kolchin explains that conditions for slaves were probably not that much worse in the period than for peasants and later the working classes in other wealthy nations. However he never loses sight of the fact that what made slavery worse than other situations was what defined it as slavery in the first place; a complete lack of freedom that no amount of autonomy (even where it was available) could atone for. And the book contains many examples of where life for the slaves was unimaginably distressing.

A great introduction to the subject, and an entertaining and well-balanced account of a harrowing subject, this book is well recommended.

E. Wieder

Very good but rather dry

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is indeed a very good account of all aspects of American slavery from its roots in the 17th century to its demise in the 19th. It is very informative, and backed by some statistical tables at the end of the book. The book describes clearly the transition in the perception of slavery, from a purely financial tool, to the very institution that epitomizes the south. I was surprised to learn for example that the very first slaves were actually white. These people were Europeans who sold themselves to slavery so to speak, usually escaping debtors, and while in bondage, were treated no differently than the black slaves. The difference was that for whites it was temporary - for a period of several years.
The book also draws interesting parallels between American slavery and slavery elsewhere in the Americas, and serfdom in Russia.
I see two shortcomings to this book
- I would have liked a larger section on post war reconstruction, it is there, but is rather small, given that the book is about slavery itself it is probably not a major point.
- The style is rather dry, the topic is interesting and yet on occasion I found myself forcing myself to continue reading.

4 people found this helpful

M Collins

Loved it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2021

Verified Purchase

Love this book. Good insight into life under slavery, useful for uni