Author: Libra R. Hilde, Department of History, San Jose State University

Contents:

	Acknowledgments (p. vii)
	Introduction (p. 1)
	CHAPTER ONE The God Part of Him Slavery and Constraints on Fatherhood (p. 29)
	CHAPTER TWO I Liked My Papa the Best Enslaved Fathers (p. 67)
	CHAPTER THREE Blasphemous Doctrine for a Slave to Teach Provisioning (p. 92)
	CHAPTER FOUR This Great Object of My Life Purchase and Escape (p. 120)
	CHAPTER FIVE Tuckey Buzzard Lay Me Slavery, Sex, and White Fathers (p. 149)
	CHAPTER SIX Mortifications Peculiarly Their Own Rape, Concubinage, and White Paternity (p. 197)
	CHAPTER SEVEN My Children Is My Own Fatherhood and Freedom (p. 226)
	CHAPTER EIGHT Good to Us Chillun Provisioning in Freedom (p. 254)
	Epilogue (p. 282)
	Notes (p. 291)
	Bibliography (p. 365)
	Index (p. 383)

Description: »Analyzing published and archival oral histories of formerly enslaved African Americans, Libra R. Hilde explores the meanings of manhood and fatherhood during and after the era of slavery, demonstrating that black men and women articulated a surprisingly broad and consistent vision of paternal duty across more than a century. Complicating the tendency among historians to conflate masculinity within slavery with heroic resistance, Hilde emphasizes that, while some enslaved men openly rebelled, many chose subtle forms of resistance in the context of family and local community. She explains how a significant number of enslaved men served as caretakers to their children and shaped their lives and identities. From the standpoint of enslavers, this was particularly threatening--a man who fed his children built up the master’s property, but a man who fed them notions of autonomy put cracks in the edifice of slavery.
Fatherhood highlighted the agonizing contradictions of the condition of enslavement, and to be an involved father was to face intractable dilemmas, yet many men tried. By telling the story of the often quietly heroic efforts that enslaved men undertook to be fathers, Hilde reveals how formerly enslaved African Americans evaluated their fathers (including white fathers) and envisioned an honorable manhood.« (Source: University of North Carolina Press)

Reviews:
- Bruckner, Tim. H-CivWar (February, 2021). - Full Text: H-Net Reviews (Free Access)

- Burns, Katherine. Journal of Family History 47(4) (October 2022): 489-491. - Full Text: Sage Journals (Restricted Access)

- Grivno, Max. The Journal of African American History 108(1) (Winter 2023): 142-143. - Full Text: University of Chicago Press (Restricted Access)

- Kennedy, Kathleen. Civil War Book Review 23(4) (Fall 2021). - Full Text: LSU Scholarly Repository (Free Access)

- Kretz, Dale. Journal of Southern History 87(3) (August 2021): 538-539. - Full Text: Project MUSE (Restricted Access)

- Lussana, Sergio. Slavery & Abolition: A Journal of Slave and Post-Slave Studies 42(4) (2021): 980-981. - Full Text: Taylor & Francis Online (Restricted Access)

- Martschukat, Jürgen. The American Historical Review 129(2) (June 2024): 738-739. - Full Text: Oxford Academic (Restricted Access)

- Morgan, Lynda J. Journal of American History 108(4) (March 2022): 828-829. - Full Text: Oxford Academic (Restricted Access)

- Riley, John P. The Journal of the Civil War Era 11(4) (December 2021): 568-571. - Full Text: Project MUSE (Restricted Access)

- West, Emily. Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 119(1) (Winter 2021): 86-88. - Full Text: Project MUSE (Restricted Access)

Wikipedia: History of the Americas: History of the United States | Slavery: Slavery in the United States / Treatment of slaves in the United States | Sex and the law: Rape / Rape in the United States