The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 54, July 1950 - April, 1951 Page: 374
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Southwestern Historical Quarterly and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas State Historical Association.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Slavery in Alabama. By James Benson Sellers. Tuscaloosa (Uni-
versity of Alabama Press), 1950. Pp. xiii+426. Illustrations.
$4.00.
All students of the slavery-plantation system of the South have
a great mentor, Professor U. B. Phillips. If Slavery in Alabama
suggests the adaptation and confinement of American Negro
Slavery to a state level, it will in turn be the prototype for spe-
cialized studies in the other slave states. Professor Sellers of the
History Department of the University of Alabama launches a
refreshing and scholarly account which comprehends every phase
of slavery in Alabama from its territorial days up to the Civil
War. The chapters deal with the introduction and expansion of
slavery, plantation types and economy, slave management and
subsistence, traffic in slaves, runaway slaves, slave crimes and pun-
ishment, the town slave, the church and slavery, the free negro,
and the inevitable defense of slavery by the literati. The index
is somewhat inadequate, but the bibliography of sources cited in
replete footnotes is complete. The jacket by Thomas Immler
adds to the attractiveness of the book.
Professor Sellers explores every nook and cranny and presents
a meticulous case study of slavery in a new cotton state. He re-
constructs the institution from its own records: statutes, court
proceedings, church minutes, wills, deeds, plantation letters, man-
uals, and records, and thirty different newspapers, some in series
of years. He makes exhaustive use of his data. From mere run-
away slave advertisements and descriptions, he reveals a surpris-
ing number of facets of the system. To one not interested in this
subject, it would appear that the writer is repetitious and that
he overstretches his materials and interpretations. The book is a
"must," however, for students and teachers of the ante-bellum
South, and it will have a most enthusiastic reception in that circle.
At the outset the writer states that slavery had distinctive fea-
tures in the several states. Slavery in Alabama, however, is not a
comparative study, and it leaves the reader to surmise the special
features in Alabama. Slavery was profitable from beginning to
end on the new bottom soils of Alabama; it was ever expanding.
There were never enough slaves to supply the demand. Hence,
Alabama planters were buyers and not sellers of slaves. Because374
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 54, July 1950 - April, 1951, periodical, 1951; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101133/m1/486/?rotate=90: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.