Displaying 1 of 1 2017 Format: Book Author: Escott, Paul D., 1947-, author. Title: Paying freedom's price : a history of African Americans in the Civil War / Paul David Escott. Publisher, Date: Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2017]. ©2017 Description: xii, 169 pages : black and white illustrations ; 24 cm Summary: Paying Freedom's Price provides a comprehensive yet brief and readable history of the role of African Americans-both slave and free-from the decade leading up to the Civil War until its immediate aftermath. Series: The African American history series African-American history series. Subjects: Enslaved persons -- Emancipation -- United States. African Americans -- History -- 1863-1877. African Americans -- History -- To 1863. United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Participation, African American. United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- African Americans. Genre: History. Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 155-158) and index. Contents: Forcing the issue -- Forced to serve the South, desiring freedom -- Fighting for freedom, equality, and the Union -- Fighting for equality -- Facing a difficult future. LCCN: 2016042059 ISBN: 9781442255746 (cloth) 1442255749 (cloth) OCLC: 953708406 System Availability: 1 # System items in: 1 # Local items: 0 # Local items in: 0 Current Holds: 0 Place Request Add to My List Expand All | Collapse All Availability Large Cover Image Trade Reviews Publishers Weekly ReviewCivil War expert Escott (Lincoln's Dilemma), professor of history at Wake Forest University, serves up a slender slice of African-American history that will whet the appetite of readers looking for an introduction to the topic. The book's content, structure, and simple prose make clear that students are its intended audience. Escott's argument about the agency of African-Americans in securing their freedom during the war isn't new, but remains important. Despite any personal relationships enslaved people may have forged with slave owners, Escott states unambiguously that "slaves hated their bondage and the coercion on which it was based." Escott challenges persistent and unfounded assertions that enslaved African-Americans in the South willingly fought for the Confederacy. He goes on to explain why free African-Americans in the North supported the Union war effort. Escott's discussion of black civil rights leadership is particularly illuminating and includes a fascinating discussion of the importance of education. The concluding chapter about the failure of Reconstruction is a sobering reminder of how deeply entrenched systemic racism is in the U.S. Though there's value in a good historical synthesis, the book's content is so wispy and so reliant on limited, dated scholarship that most instructors will think twice before assigning it. Illus. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. Librarian's View Displaying 1 of 1
