Divided Mastery

by
Format: Hardcover
Pub. Date: 2004-02-27
Publisher(s): Harvard Univ Pr
  • Free Shipping Icon

    Free Shipping on all Orders Over $35!*

    *excludes Marketplace items.

List Price: $70.50

Buy New

Usually Ships in 8 - 10 Business Days.
$70.15

Rent Textbook

Select for Price
There was a problem. Please try again later.

Rent Digital

Online: 1825 Days access
Downloadable: Lifetime Access
$86.63
$86.63

Used Textbook

We're Sorry
Sold Out

This item is being sold by an Individual Seller and will not ship from the Online Bookstore's warehouse. The Seller must confirm the order within two business days. If the Seller refuses to sell or fails to confirm within this time frame, then the order is cancelled.

Please be sure to read the Description offered by the Seller.

Summary

Divided Mastery explores a curiously neglected aspect of the history of American slavery: the rental of slaves. Though few slaves escaped being rented out at some point in their lives, this is the first book to describe the practice, and its effects on both slaves and the peculiar institution. Martin reveals how the unique triangularity of slave hiring created slaves with two masters, thus transforming the customary polarity of master-slave relationships. Drawing upon slaveholders' letters, slave narratives, interviews with former slaves, legislative petitions, and court records, Divided Mastery ultimately reveals that slave hiring's significance was paradoxical. The practice bolstered the system of slavery by facilitating its spread into the western territories, by democratizing access to slave labor, and by promoting both production and speculation with slave capital. But at the same time, slaves used hiring to their advantage, finding in it crucial opportunities to shape their work and family lives, to bring owners and hirers into conflict with each other, and to destabilize the system of bondage. Martin illuminates the importance of the capitalist market as a tool for analyzing slavery and its extended relationships. Through its fresh and complex perspective, Divided Mastery demonstrates that slave hiring is critical to understanding the fundamental nature of American slavery, and its social, political, and economic place in the Old South.

Author Biography

Jonathan D. Martin received his Ph.D. in History and J.D. from New York University

Table of Contents

Introduction: Slaves with Two Masters 1(16)
1 Slave Hiring in the Evolution of Slavery 17(27)
2 A Blessing and a Curse 44(28)
3 Risks and Returns 72(33)
4 Compromised Mastery 105(33)
5 Resistance and Abuse 138(23)
6 Working Alone 161(27)
Epilogue 188(9)
Abbreviations 197(2)
Notes 199(30)
Acknowledgments 229(2)
Index 231

An electronic version of this book is available through VitalSource.

This book is viewable on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and most smartphones.

By purchasing, you will be able to view this book online, as well as download it, for the chosen number of days.

A downloadable version of this book is available through the eCampus Reader or compatible Adobe readers.

Applications are available on iOS, Android, PC, Mac, and Windows Mobile platforms.

Please view the compatibility matrix prior to purchase.