JAMES OAKES

Slavery and Freedom

An Interpretation of the Old South

"The most valuable and stimulating general interpretation of the Old South to appear in recent years."—George M. Fredrickson

This pathbreaking interpretation of the slaveholding South begins with the insight that slavery and freedom were not mutually exclusive but were intertwined in every dimension of life in the South. James Oakes traces the implications of this insight for relations between masters and slaves, slaveholders and non-slaveholders, and for the rise of a racist ideology.

"Intriguing.... Oakes goes where few historians have gone before.... He has produced a solidly researched, provocative account of the Old South that will make its readers think and rethink."—Newsday

James Oakes is Distinguished Professor of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of The Ruling Race: A History of American Slaveholders, also available in Norton paperback.

1998 / paperback / 0-393-31766-8 / 264 pages / AMERICAN HISTORY/AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES