Carry Me Back: The Domestic Slave Trade in American Life: Amazon.co.uk: Steven Deyle: Books

Review

"Scholars are aware of some aspects of Deyle's account, but never have all the pieces been pulled together in such a way. As a result, Carry Me Back may wel become that rarest of all things in the modern publishing world: the definitive study."--Douglas R. Egerton, The Alabama Review
"Deyle offers a comprehensive examination of the domestic slave trade that is stunning it is breadth.... His work is remarkable for placing the internal slave trade squarely in the context of the market revolution."--Jeff Forret, The Journal of Southern History
"Deyle's contribution is significant."--MichaelTTadman, IUniversity of Liverpool
"Carry Me Back is a book we have long needed--a synthetic, region-wide treatment of the domestic slave trade. Deyle's deep research and lucid writing convincingly show that the sale and transport of human property from the upper to lower South was a national tragedy of epic proportions, a grand economic enterprise that both forged the Cotton Kingdom and was

Product Description

Originating with the birth of the nation itself, in many respects, the story of the domestic slave trade is also the story of the early United States. While an external traffic in slaves had always been present, following the American Revolution this was replaced by a far more vibrant internal trade. Most importantly, an interregional commerce in slaves developed that turned human property into one of the most valuable forms of investment in the country, second only to land. In fact, this form of property became so valuable that when threatened with its ultimate extinction in 1860, southern slave owners believed they had little alternative but to leave the Union. Therefore, while the interregional trade produced great wealth for many people, and the nation, it also helped to tear the country apart. The domestic slave trade likewise played a fundamental role in antebellum American society. Led by professional traders, who greatly resembled northern entrepreneurs, this traffic was a central component in the market revolution of the early nineteenth century. In addition, the development of an extensive local trade meant that the domestic trade, in all its configurations, was a prominent feature in southern life. Yet, this indispensable part of the slave system also raised many troubling questions. For those outside the South, it affected their impression of both the region and the new nation. For slaveholders, it proved to be the most difficult part of their institution to defend. And for those who found themselves commodities in this trade, it was something that needed to be resisted at all costs. Carry Me Back restores the domestic slave trade to the prominent place that it deserves in early American history, exposing the many complexities of southern slavery and antebellum American life.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.

5 star

4 star

3 star

2 star

1 star

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 3 reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

A great book on an important topic 31 July 2005

By Ann G. Serow - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Hardcover

I read Steven Deyle's book, Carry Me Back, on the recommendation of a review by Benjamin Schwarz in the June 2005 edition of the Atlantic Monthly. Schwarz praised Carry Me Back as "a fine book - by far the best work to date on the subject." Schwarz also pointed out that Deyle "takes a broad view" of the domestic slave trade and "he approaches the subject with nuance." I found the book persuasively argued and a pleasure to read. Although my doctorate is in political science, I am a history teacher and I strongly recommend Carry Me Back to any student of US history.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Great Book 5 Sep 2006

By pj - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Paperback

I picked up Carry Me Back based just on the subject and I expected a kind of standard treatment of slave trading as a business: so many people were sold to such and such states etc. This book does contain some of that but it has much more. Carry Me Back has an important argument about the nature of American slavery and sectionalism within the South. The book puts the slave trade at the center of American slavery showing how the money generated by the trade both reinforced slavery and led to doubts about its future. Deyle also shows how the increasing commodification of slaves altered the very way in which slavery was perceived by slaveowners and non-slaveowners. This is a must have for anyone who wants to understand American slavery.

First Rate History 12 April 2012

By David S. Lott - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an excellent coverage of the the extensive internal slave trade in the American south. It's an "academic" book but accessible to the general reader. Well written without academic pretension prose but with high quality research.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews

Were these reviews helpful? Let us know

Carry Me Back: The Domestic Slave Trade in American Life [Paperback]

Formats

Product details

More About the Author

Product Description

Review

Product Description

Tag this product

Customer Reviews

Customer Discussions

Start a new discussion

Listmania!

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject

Feedback