The Cotton Kingdom: A Traveller's Observations on Cotton and Slavery in the American Slave States : Based upon Three Former Volumes of Journeys and Investigations

Rating:
Summary: THE SOUTH ON THE EVE OF THE CIVIL WAR
Review: Frederick Law Olmstead travelled extensively throughout the south during the antebellum period, as reflected in this book. He considered the effects of slavery on both blacks and whites and found it to have pernicious effects on both. Although written prior to the Civil War, the book (actually a series of extensive selections from the three original volumes based on his newspaper articles written during his travels)provides a rather indepth and refreshing look at well-known history and looks at the diverse roles played by blacks, white southerners, (and northerners!) in slavery. He also examines their views on the slave issue itself: some nascent Southern abolitionists and colonialists, as well as advocates of slavery, appeared rather intelligent and some otherwise. Many considered slavery an insoluble problem and others defended it as a necessary evil which benefitted blacks and whites alike(!). After completing his tour (including a rather interesting situation in which a black slave seriously injures a biracial runaway, has him clapped in irons and sent to jail - much to the amusement of some white southerners - & an enlightening discussion, especially in light of Talty's research showing persons of pure white descent, including adult foreigners and children who were originally indentured were kidnapped or illegally sold into slavery, of how demeanor would be an adequate determinant of whether or not a "white" slave was really free or not), he provides a critical analysis of slavery and its effects on the south.

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BETTER OF THIS GENRE
Review: This is one you will want to own and add to your collection. It is a wonderful first hand account by an English traveler, traveling through the Southern United States just prior to the Civil War. You have to remember the time in which it was written and take into concideration style, syntax, and most importantly, attitude. For the serious student of the Civil War, it is a must read and a must for the collection. Times were hard then, and this gives a great account of what one would have encountered at that time. This is one you will probably want to read twice, as a matter of fact. All in all, I highly recommend.