Paying Freedom's Price
A History of African Americans in the Civil War
By (author) Paul David Escott Series edited by Jacqueline M. Moore, Nina Mjagkij
Publication date:
30 October 2017Length of book:
182 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9780810895416
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. Rather than focusing on black military service, the white-led abolitionist movement, or Lincoln’s emergence as the great emancipator, Escott concentrates on the black military and civilian experience in the North as well as the South. He argues that African Americans—slaves, free Blacks, civilians, soldiers, men, and women— played a crucial role in transforming the sectional conflict into a war for black freedom. The book is organized chronologically as well as thematically. The chronological organization will help readers understand how the Civil War evolved from a war to preserve the Union to a war that sought to abolish slavery, but not racial inequality. Within this chronological framework, Escott provides a thematic structure, tracing the causes of the war and African American efforts to include abolition, black military service, and racial equality in the wartime agenda. Including a timeline, selected primary sources, and an extensive bibliographic essay, Escott’s book will be provide a superb starting point for students and general readers who want to explore in greater depth this important aspect of the Civil War and African American history.
Civil War expert Escott, 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. [T]here’s value in a good historical synthesis.