An Analysis of "Slavery," by Stanley Elkins
An Analysis of Slavery, by Stanley M. Elkins
HIS 335: Civil War History
Jason S. Perry
23 January 2014
Slavery, by Stanley Elkins, is a text that does its best to analyze the institution of Slavery from all angles in a more analytical, rather than purely emotional, manner. It also proves that the topic, which many believed was decided upon and done with at the end of the Civil War, was still as powerful and controversial in the 20th Century as ever. Elkins approached the topic from several viewpoints, including anthropological, sociological and psychological, even starting the text by examining the works of many “experts” in the field who attempted to analyze it after the end of the Civil War.Though originally published in 1958, the analyses within hold up as well today as they did then, and the additions of even more analyses in the second and third editions give even more insights on how historians are still focusing on this area of American history.
In another text - Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction by James M. McPherson - the author has his own way of looking at Slavery, the Civil War, and the events that would follow that are both similar to and different than that of Slavery. On the side of similarity, both authors are quite clear that Slavery is an immoral, incorrect institution, and are quite unapologetic about this. However, McPherson focuses on both the South being completely wrong in almost every situation (not necessarily by citing facts, but the wording and tone used make this irrevocably true), that their insistence on maintaining a Slave-based society held the South back economically and culturally, and that the rise of the Republicans was the end of an era for the South. Elkins, instead, focuses on several different analyses, giving several possible viewpoints, and showing mistakes made on both sides of the issue, including the fact that, by refusing to compromise, the abolitionists were just as
HIS 335: Civil War History
Jason S. Perry
23 January 2014
Slavery, by Stanley Elkins, is a text that does its best to analyze the institution of Slavery from all angles in a more analytical, rather than purely emotional, manner. It also proves that the topic, which many believed was decided upon and done with at the end of the Civil War, was still as powerful and controversial in the 20th Century as ever. Elkins approached the topic from several viewpoints, including anthropological, sociological and psychological, even starting the text by examining the works of many “experts” in the field who attempted to analyze it after the end of the Civil War.Though originally published in 1958, the analyses within hold up as well today as they did then, and the additions of even more analyses in the second and third editions give even more insights on how historians are still focusing on this area of American history.
In another text - Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction by James M. McPherson - the author has his own way of looking at Slavery, the Civil War, and the events that would follow that are both similar to and different than that of Slavery. On the side of similarity, both authors are quite clear that Slavery is an immoral, incorrect institution, and are quite unapologetic about this. However, McPherson focuses on both the South being completely wrong in almost every situation (not necessarily by citing facts, but the wording and tone used make this irrevocably true), that their insistence on maintaining a Slave-based society held the South back economically and culturally, and that the rise of the Republicans was the end of an era for the South. Elkins, instead, focuses on several different analyses, giving several possible viewpoints, and showing mistakes made on both sides of the issue, including the fact that, by refusing to compromise, the abolitionists were just as
References: Elkins, Stanley M (1976). Slavery (Third Edition). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. Hogue, James K. and McPherson, James M (2010). Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction (4th Edition). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill Higher Education.