| Slave Counterpoint Black Culture in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake and Lowcountry by Philip D. Morgan 736 pp., 6 1/8 x 9 1/4, 27 illus., 31 tables, 9 maps, 11 figs., notes, index 1998 ISBN: 0-8078-2409-7 Hardcover $55.00 ISBN: 0-8078-4717-8 Paperback $24.95
"Morgan's synthesis draws upon a wealth of social, political, legal, economic, literary, religious and anthropological sources to illuminate through a variety of prisms what he calls 'the core contradiction of slavery--treating persons as things,' which guaranteed that master and slave would be thrust apart, even as they were bound inextricably together."--Los Angeles Times Book Review (Best Nonfiction Books of 1998 issue) A 1998 New York Times Book Review Notable Book "An exhaustive and authoritative synthesis of slavery in the Chesapeake (Virginia and Maryland) and the South Carolina Lowcountry, Slave Counterpoint is also a fine example of comparative history."--Richmond Times-Dispatch "A monumental social history of slavery in the eighteenth-century Chesapeake region and in the Carolina and Georgia low country."--Robert L. Paquette, Washington Times "A massive reconstruction of life in the 18th-century American South. . . . [Morgan] sets out to provide 'a balanced appreciation for the oppressiveness of bondage and of the ability of slaves to reshape their lives.' He has succeeded splendidly, and in the process reminded modern readers that the world of the 18th century is not so distant as they sometimes imagine."--New York Times Book Review "Authoritative and detailed. . . . Morgan's synthesis draws upon a wealth of social, political, legal, economic, literary, religious and anthropological sources to illuminate through a variety of prisms what he calls 'the core contradiction of slavery--treating persons as things.'"--Los Angeles Times Book Review "This book is without question the most comprehensive and richly documented account of African American life in the eighteenth-century plantation South. Philip Morgan examines all aspects of the black experience in Virginia and South Carolina, shows the myriad ways in which slavery shaped and contoured social relations in both places, and demonstrates how the slaves created a distinctive culture in the teeth of oppression. A must read for all early American historians!"--Richard S. Dunn, University of Pennsylvania "Scholars who have long been tantalized by Philip Morgan's many essays on slavery can now see the bigger picture to which these pieces belong. His book is a painstaking comparative study, rich in detail and deft in its use of the secondary literature."--Joyce E. Chaplin, Vanderbilt University "Philip Morgan's Slave Counterpoint should prove a landmark in the study of southern slavery. Supported by an impressive command of the sources, primary and secondary, Morgan's judicious, sometimes bold interpretations inspire confidence. And, as a bonus, this well-written book is refreshingly free of jargon and cant."--Eugene D. Genovese "With a book of such outstanding merit, it is difficult to know where to begin or where to end. It is in every respect a terrific piece of work. Far and away the fullest and most comprehensive analysis of the two principal colonial American slave societies, it is breathtaking in its scope."--Jack P. Greene, Johns Hopkins University Morgan explores the role of land and labor in shaping culture, the everyday contacts of masters and slaves that defined the possibilities and limitations of cultural exchange, and finally the interior lives of blacks--their social relations, their family and kin ties, and the major symbolic dimensions of life: language, play, and religion. He provides a balanced appreciation for the oppressiveness of bondage and for the ability of slaves to shape their lives, showing that, whatever the constraints, slaves contributed to the making of their history. Victims of a brutal, dehumanizing system, slaves nevertheless strove to create order in their lives, to preserve their humanity, to achieve dignity, and to sustain dreams of a better future. Philip D. Morgan is editor of the William and Mary Quarterly and professor of history at the College of William and Mary.
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