In an age such as ours, so premised on individual liberty, the author performs a kind of moral autopsy on the mindset of slave owning. While most scholarly attention to slavery in the americas has concentrated on international transatlantic trade, the essays in this volume focus on the slave trades within brazil, the west. Sahil1 sahil sharma saginaw valley state university history 111 dale moler 16 th march, 2016 walter johnson. Soul by soul tells the story of slavery in antebellum america by moving away from the cotton. The second chapter examines the life of a slave trader, such as their roles and responsibilities. Soul by soul is a stunning excavation of the past, a book that is sure to be read and debated for years to come.
This 29page guide for soul by soul by walter johnson includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 8 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Oct 01, 2008 this wideranging book presents the first comprehensive and comparative account of the slave trade within the nations and colonial systems of the americas. It was here that the central contradiction in slavery, the chattel principle, crystallized. Soul by soul tells the story of slavery in antebellum america by moving away from the cotton plantations. You can read online soul by soul life inside the antebellum slave market here in pdf, epub, mobi or docx formats. Simkins award cowinner, southern historical association, 2001. To do so slavesellers used a system of categorization based on physical attributes skin color, gender, size, etc. As the instructor teaching the seminar for which i read this book put it, each chapter is refracted around the chattel principle, but each is distinct in focus and features conflicting perspectives on.
Events in the history university of north carolina at. Download pdf soul by soul life inside the antebellum slave. The book investigates such topics as the illegal slave trade in cuba, the creole slave revolt in the u. How did the size of the interstate and local trade differ. Walter johnson opens the book explaining the chattel principle, which describes the treatment of slaves as property. After that the author talks about the chattel principle that viewed slave as movable property in the manner of livestock 1 and discussed the business of slave trading and how it was that slave. Solomon northups twelve years a slave and the slave. Download book soul by soul life inside the antebellum slave market in pdf format.
Taking us inside the new orleans slave market, the largest in the nation, where 100,000 men, women, and children were packaged, priced, and sold, walter johnson transforms the statistics of this chilling trade. Soul by soul tells the story of slavery in antebellum america by moving away from the cotton plantations and into the slave market. View the new experience and read this book on fulcrum. The chattel principle breaks new ground on a topic of great importance that has, until very recently, escaped the attention it deserves. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Soul by soul brilliantly bares the base meaning of chattel bondage and by extension antebellum southern society by inspecting the mechanism that produced and reproduced slavery in the nineteenthcentury united states and in the process defined slave, slave trader, and slaveholder. Internal slave trades in the americas, 18081888 new haven. Review of soul by soul by walter johnson the lakefront. Chattel definition is an item of tangible movable or immovable property except real estate and things such as buildings connected with real property. Does anyone know any of these questions about the book soul by soul by walter johnson. Internal slave trades in the americas the david brion davis series the chattel principle breaks new ground on a topic of great importance that has, until very recently, escaped the attention it deserves. While most scholarly attention to slavery in the americas has concentrated on international transatlantic trade, the essays. Does anyone know any of these questions about the book soul. The chattel principle is the idea that a slaves identity could change as.
After that the author talks about the chattel principle that viewed slave as movable property in the manner. Walter johnson takes a cultural history approach to studying antebellum slavery in contrast to aggregating social histories by arguing that the slave market, rather than the household or the plantation, was the defining feature of the slave south. Johnson begins soul by soul by discussing the chattel principle, which based a slaves identity on their market value. The chattel principle is the idea that a slaves identity could change as easily as his or her price on the market. Soul by soul life inside the antebellum slave market. May 25, 2007 study questions soul by soul what sources did walter johnson use for this book. When it comes to the intellect, however, aristotle waffles. As the instructor teaching the seminar for which i read this book put it, each chapter is refracted around the chattel principle, but each is distinct in focus and features conflicting perspectives on the principle. What emerges is not only the brutal economics of trading but the vast and surprising interdependencies among the actors involved. Johnson tells us many things about the commodification of human beings, some of which you probably know and others that are more surprisinges johnsons book covers wide territory, from the petty encounters of small slave traders to the extraordinary power of slavery in the southern economy. At best, slavery posited the spiritual inferiority of darkskinned people who, presumably, needed lightskinned people to minister to and teach them how to believe and behave as christians. The chattel principle by walter johnson yale university press. Walter johnson creates a common identity for the slaves by letting their voices give shape to the narrative. What johnson accomplishes within the structure of soul by soul is quite impressive.
In particular, this book is interested in the story of slave showrooms. Summary soul by soul tells the story of slavery in antebellum america by moving away from the cotton. Walter johnson department of history harvard university. None of the above questions and concerns are addressed by the various essays in this book.
Soul by soul by walter johnson 2 editions first published in 2000 not in library. Soul by soul is an impressive work of scholarship, winner of harvard university presss thomas j. The chattel principle breaks new ground on a topic of great. Full text of the chattel principle the abhorrence of. Apr 09, 2011 the subsequent chapters of the book treat the contested bargains made by traders, buyers, and slaves in the showrooms and auction houses. The greatest achievement that can be associated with johnsons book would be the use of the slaver market and slave trade as tools for illuminating the audience on the chattel principle that was at the very core of slavery. While most scholarly attention to slavery in the americas has concentrated on international transatlantic trade, the essays in this volume focus on the slave trades within brazil, the west indies, and the southern states of the united. The chattel principle the chattel principle is the idea that a slaves identity could change as easily as his or her price on the market. Study questions soul by soul what sources did walter johnson use for this book.
The chattel principle itself has not been defined anywhere in the text nor is the term used contextually in such a way as to determine just how it might be applied or understood apart from the subject of slavery. The first chapter of this book is about the chattel principle. Soul by soul is the awardwinning first book written by walter johnson, an american historian specializing in capitalism, imperialism, and nineteenthcentury slavery, particularly the internal slavetrade of the. To many slaveholders, the chattel principle meant that, as property, a slave could have no soul. What impact did the slave trade have on slave families. Internal slave trades in the americas walter johnson this wideranging book presents the first comprehensive and comparative account of the slave trade within the nations and colonial systems of the americas. Through care and discipline slaves bodies were physically incorporated with their owners standards of measure. Mar 12, 2020 soul by soul tells the story of slavery in antebellum america by moving away from the cotton plantations and into the slave market itself, the heart of the domestic slave trade. What factors shaped and influenced the slave trade.
Soul by soul tells the story of slavery in antebellum america by moving away from the cotton plantations and into the slave market itself, the heart of the domestic slave trade. Even when they were not in a physical slave market, enslaved peoples lives were lived in the shadow of their monetary value. The chattel principle by walter johnson 1 edition first published in 2005 download daisy. Arguing directly against eugene genoveses long standing contention that slavery was a fundamentally precapitalist enterprise that operated hegemonically through a dialectical system of paternalism, johnson in soul by soul 1999 found slavery itself to be thoroughly capitalistic and governed by the brutal realities of the chattel principle. Proslavery fictions and a black colonization experiment on the northern coast, 18351846 jarret ruminski. Jan 01, 2004 this wideranging book presents the first comprehensive and comparative account of the slave trade within the nations and colonial systems of the americas. This book is broken down into seven chapters that deeply analyze and reflect the slave market during antebellum america. Soul by soul walter johnson harvard university press. Why does johnson say that the slave trade threatened both social and literal death. Yale university press, 2004 edited collection soul by soul. To do so slavesellers used a system of categorization based on physical attributes skin color. Get an answer for in soul by soul, what does walter johnson say determined the market value of the slaves. While most scholarly attention to slavery in the americas has concentrated on international transatlantic trade, the essays in this volume focus on the slave trades within brazil, the west indies, and the southern.
Soul by soul is the awardwinning first book written by walter johnson, an american historian specializing in capitalism, imperialism, and nineteenthcentury slavery, particularly the internal slavetrade of the american south between 1820 and 1860. Aug 14, 2015 chattel is a legal term generally used to describe movable property goods, which are anything from a pencil to a cow to a plane. Full text of the chattel principle the abhorrence of jesus christ and the apostles. What set slavery apart from other forms of coerced labor. Full text of the chattel principle the abhorrence of jesus. Soul by soul chattel principle walter johnson bodies of slavery were forcibly shaped to their slavery commodification and their knowledge of the worth of their bodies from the very beginning. Taking us inside the new orleans slave market, the largest in the nation, where 100,000 men, women, and children were packaged, priced, and sold, walter johnson transforms the statistics of this chilling trade into the. The chattel principle goodreads meet your next favorite book. In soul by soul, what does walter johnson say determined. Download pdf soul by soul life inside the antebellum. Throughout the book, you can see the theme of power and authority, as well as the confusing relationship between the slaveholders and the slaves. Although slaveowners tried to draw an imaginary boundary between the market and the everyday course of slavery, slaves lived in perpetual dread of being separated from their families.
Chattel is a legal term generally used to describe movable property goods, which are anything from a pencil to a cow to a plane. Outline and summary of walter johnsons soul by soul. He claims that the slave market would not have existed if it did not have roots within american culture. Life inside the antebellum slave market, harvard university press cambridge, ma, 1999. Johnson manages to recirculate individuals slaves, slave traders, slaveholders throughout each chapter, revealing the workings of the chattel principle through their correspondence, slaveabolitionist what johnson accomplishes within the structure of soul by soul is quite impressive.
Life inside the antebellum slave market, by walter johnson. So on aristotles account, although the soul is not a material object, it is not separable from the body. Wilson prize, awarded to the best first book accepted by the press each year. Soul by soul, harvard university press, 1999 soul by soul.
The being of slavery, its soul and body, lives and moves in the chattel principle, the property principle, the bill of sale principle. Taking us inside the new orleans slave market, the largest in the nation, where 100,000 men, women, and children were packaged, priced, and sold, walter johnson transforms the statistics of this chilling trade into the human drama of traders, buyers, and slaves, negotiating sales that would alter the life of each. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. Internal slave trades in the americas, yale university press new haven, ct, 2005. Walter johnson is associate professor of american studies and history, new york university. This wideranging book presents the first comprehensive and comparative account of the slave trade within the nations and colonial systems of the americas. Even in the realm of religion, slavery distorted protestant christianity by challenging the reformations fundamental tenet, namely, the priesthood of all believers, the equality of every soul before god.
The slave pen lay at the depths of slaverys hell, and no one has explored that abyss better than walter johnson. Review the chattel principle breaks new ground on a topic of great importance that has, until very recently, escaped the attention it deserves. The subsequent chapters of the book treat the contested bargains made by traders, buyers, and slaves in the showrooms and auction houses. Soul by soul brilliantly bares the base meaning of chattel bondage and by extension antebellum southern society by inspecting the mechanism that produced and reproduced slavery in the nineteenthcentury united states and in the process defined slave.
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