Complicated Lives: Free Blacks in Virginia, 1619-1865
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- Synopsis
- Would the United States have developed differently if Virginia had not passed a law in 1670 proclaiming all subsequently arriving Africans as servants for life, or slaves? Complicated Lives upends the pervasive belief that all Africans landing on the shores of Virginia in late August 1619, and thereafter, became slaves. In reality, many of these kidnap victims received the status of indentured servants. Indeed, hundreds of thousands of free African Americans owned property, created businesses, and engaged in public service. Complicated Lives explores the lives of Free Blacks through the lens of the author's ancestors and other Free Blacks who lived this history, including those who served in the integrated troops commanded by George Washington during the Revolutionary War. "Complicated Lives is a much-needed chronicle of the achievements and plight of Free Blacks in America, and how many of our nation's Founding Fathers and notables struggled with the dichotomy of slavery and freedom. This is a scholarly work that belongs on the shelves of all worthy historians, but also reads like a novel, making it approachable to the lay reader." --FRANK ALAN BURR, author of McKinley Memories--A Memoir
- Copyright:
- 2019
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Excellent
- Book Size:
- 196 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9781531016173
- Publisher:
- Carolina Academic Press
- Date of Addition:
- 12/31/19
- Copyrighted By:
- Sherri L. Burr
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- History, Nonfiction, Law, Legal Issues and Ethics
- Submitted By:
- Terry Gorman
- Proofread By:
- Terry Gorman
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.