- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: OUP USA (25 Aug 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0195160878
- ISBN-13: 978-0195160871
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 12.7 x 2.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,358,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
In Search of the Promised Land
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Product Description
Review
The authors argue that this 'highly unusual family' illuminates relatively unexplored aspects of Southern history, and they tell its story elegantly. (New York Times Book Review )
This is a distinguished contribution to American history and social sciences. Highly recommended to both public and academic libraries. (Edward G. McCormack, Library Journal )
This is a distinguished contribution to American history and social sciences. Highly recommended to both public and academic libraries. (Edward G. McCormack, Library Journal )
Review
"In Search of the Promised Land is a unique and exciting addition to the literature on slavery and nineteenth-century history. It shows the complexity of slave life and challenges existing historical interpretations without completely overturning the studies of the last thirty years. . . . I love the story itself--what a story!"--James Fuller, University of Indianapolis
"The book's focus on the Thomas-Rapier family provides for one of the more vivid presentations of antebellum race relations I have seen. So much of scholarship on slave life tends to lose sight of individuals who had to confront life in a slave society. This book brings individuals back into the picture."--Dickson D. Bruce, University of Irvine California
--This text refers to the
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First Sentence
MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS BEFORE JAMES THOMAS WAS FREED, and some ten years before he was born, his mother began a journey of her own. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS BEFORE JAMES THOMAS WAS FREED, and some ten years before he was born, his mother began a journey of her own. Read the first page
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6 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
An Excellent History of an Antebellum Slave Family
25 Nov 2005
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Drs. Schweninger and Franklin have written an excellent history of the remarkable slave woman Sally Thomas and her three sons, James and Henry Thomas and John H. Rapier, Sr.
The book chronicles the fortunes of a "quasi-free" slave woman and her efforts to secure freedom and financial security for her three mulatto sons in Nashville, Tennessee. The authors deftly describe the often contradictory attitudes of while Nahvillians to African-Americans, both slaves and free people of color. For example, though techincally still a slave, Sally Thomas nevertheless, as a "quasi-free" slave was able to buy property, own her own home, and become a successful and respected businesswoman (opening her own laundry on Deadrick Street), as did her sons James, Henry and John (who were all three successful barbers). The authors describe a further contradiction in white attitudes to Antebellum blacks as, after much hard work and thriftiness Sally saved up enough money to buy her son James' freedom. After being granted their freedom free blacks were required by Tennessee law to leave the state, However James (and several other free persons of color), based upon exemplary moral character, successfully petitioned the court to be allowed to remain in Nashville.
The book also chronicles the lives and adventures of Sally's three sons, James and Henry Thomas and John H. Rapier, Sr.. One of Rapier's sons, James Thomas, was elected to the US Congress from Alabama in 1873.
The book does a great job of putting the Thomas-Rapier family into the context of the times in which they lived, vividly describing the social, political and religious life of Nashvile residents, both white and black, slave and free in the 1820s, 30s, 40s and 50s. As stated above, the book also demonstrates the often contradictory views of African-Americans taken by whites and portrays the ways in which slaves like Sally Thomas enjoyed relationships with whites, artfully maneuvered within the system of slavery to gain a large measure of autonomy, and were in the end respected by whites. This book may serve to overturn some long-held assumptions regarding Antebellum slavery. The authors do a masterful job of describing just how "peculiar" the institution of slavery was in actual fact.
As a resident of the Rapiers' home town of Florence, Alabama, as well as a genealogist and historian at our public library, "In Search of the Promised Land," along with Schweninger's earlier "James T. Rapier and Reconstruction," and his publication of the autobiography of James P. Thomas, "From Tennessee Slave to St. Louis Entrepeneur," is a valubale addition to our Rapier family record collection. The authors are to be commended on their impeccable research and scholarship, while at the same time, weaving this scholarship into a genuinely readable and enjoyable narrative. I highly recommend this book. My only criticism would be the hardback's small size. Still, at 280 pages, a great book!
The book chronicles the fortunes of a "quasi-free" slave woman and her efforts to secure freedom and financial security for her three mulatto sons in Nashville, Tennessee. The authors deftly describe the often contradictory attitudes of while Nahvillians to African-Americans, both slaves and free people of color. For example, though techincally still a slave, Sally Thomas nevertheless, as a "quasi-free" slave was able to buy property, own her own home, and become a successful and respected businesswoman (opening her own laundry on Deadrick Street), as did her sons James, Henry and John (who were all three successful barbers). The authors describe a further contradiction in white attitudes to Antebellum blacks as, after much hard work and thriftiness Sally saved up enough money to buy her son James' freedom. After being granted their freedom free blacks were required by Tennessee law to leave the state, However James (and several other free persons of color), based upon exemplary moral character, successfully petitioned the court to be allowed to remain in Nashville.
The book also chronicles the lives and adventures of Sally's three sons, James and Henry Thomas and John H. Rapier, Sr.. One of Rapier's sons, James Thomas, was elected to the US Congress from Alabama in 1873.
The book does a great job of putting the Thomas-Rapier family into the context of the times in which they lived, vividly describing the social, political and religious life of Nashvile residents, both white and black, slave and free in the 1820s, 30s, 40s and 50s. As stated above, the book also demonstrates the often contradictory views of African-Americans taken by whites and portrays the ways in which slaves like Sally Thomas enjoyed relationships with whites, artfully maneuvered within the system of slavery to gain a large measure of autonomy, and were in the end respected by whites. This book may serve to overturn some long-held assumptions regarding Antebellum slavery. The authors do a masterful job of describing just how "peculiar" the institution of slavery was in actual fact.
As a resident of the Rapiers' home town of Florence, Alabama, as well as a genealogist and historian at our public library, "In Search of the Promised Land," along with Schweninger's earlier "James T. Rapier and Reconstruction," and his publication of the autobiography of James P. Thomas, "From Tennessee Slave to St. Louis Entrepeneur," is a valubale addition to our Rapier family record collection. The authors are to be commended on their impeccable research and scholarship, while at the same time, weaving this scholarship into a genuinely readable and enjoyable narrative. I highly recommend this book. My only criticism would be the hardback's small size. Still, at 280 pages, a great book!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
So much in so little
2 Feb 2006
Format:Hardcover
I was taken back by the small size of this book and then taken back again by how much history it contains. Not the stuff of dry history textbooks, this book illuminates this era with detail you won't find elsewhere and engages the reader with its intensely personal story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A slave family in the old west
19 July 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is exactly what the seller described and it came in just a few days
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