I think you can rely on Michael Johnson's meticulous scholarship without worry.
For an example, see the last two numbers of the William & Mary
Quarterly, where Johnson has reexamined the evidence for the
Denmark Vesey conspiracy and developed a new interpretation of
the events. The WMQ published a symposium on Johnson's
essay in its most recent edition.
Date sent: Sun, 12 May 2002 22:44:15 -0400
From: "Stephan A. Schwartz" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Free Black slave ownership
To: [log in to unmask]
Send reply to: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
<[log in to unmask]>
> Thanks, Jon. Very good points, which will add nuance. I do know Berlin,
> that's where I started.
>
> -- Stephan
>
>
> on 5/12/02 9:36 AM, Jon Kukla at [log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> > Re question 2 and on the assumption that your gaze may extend beyond the
> > boundaries of the Old Dominion.: I've just been reading Carl Brasseaux's
> > essay on "Creoles of Color in Louisiana's Bayou Country" in connection
> > with my book on the Louisiana Purchase - He offers very reliable figures
> > on slave-holding by free people of color and raises the question and
> > attempts to gauge the degree to which _some_ of their slave purchases
> > were done for the purpose of manumitting or taking care of family
> > members - while others were for laborers and with attitudes that
> > paralleled their white planter neighbors. Of course Louisiana had a
> > different legal approach to manumission than Virginia; the Louisiana law
> > & practice is well described in the late Kim Hanger's essay on The
> > Origins of NEw Orleans's Free People of Color - Both essays are found in
> > James H. Dormon, ed Creoles of Color of the Gulf South (Knoxville: Univ
> > of Tenn Press1996) along with other good things. I trust you're familiar
> > with Ira Berlin's Slaves without Masters (New York: Oxford 1974) and
> > Berlin's more recent big book (title of which eludes me until the coffee
> > kicks in........) Brasseaux (who edits the journal Louisiana History)
> > says good things about H. E. Sterkx's The Free Negro in Ante-Bellum
> > Louisiana (Rutherford NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press 1976
> >
> > Jon Kukla
> >
> > "Stephan A. Schwartz" wrote:
> >
> >> I am doing research for a major national magazine piece I have been
> >> asked to do which will touch on the issue of reparations. In the
> >> course of my work, I have come across the following volume:
> >>
> >> Black Masters. A Family of Color in the Old South, Michael P. Johnson
> >> and James L. Roak New York: Norton, 1984)
> >>
> >> Two questions for the list:
> >>
> >> 1.) Although the book seems sound, and comes from a reputable
> >> publisher, does anyone know any reason I should be leery of the
> >> research it uses (I am more interested in the research than the
> >> arguments);
> >>
> >> 2.) Can anyone provide any additional material on free black ownership
> >> of slaves.
> >>
> >> I am not writing a polemical piece and am not interested in arguing a
> >> partisan position. My interest is solely factual accuracy, so that I
> >> give an honest presentation of the history here. Since this is such an
> >> explosive subject, I want to make sure I am on firm ground, and would
> >> appreciate any input from other members of this list.
> >>
> >> Thanks.
> >>
> >> -- Stephan
> >>
> >> Stephan A. Schwartz € Email: [log in to unmask]
> >> Personal Website: http://www.stephanaschwartz.com € Schwartzreport:
> >> http://www.schwartzreport.net 147 Pinewood Road, Virginia Beach,
> >> Virginia 22932 € Voice: 757.422.4549
> >>
> >>
> >>
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> >
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Harold S. Forsythe
Assistant Professor History
Director: Black Studies
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT 06430-5195
(203) 254-4000 x2379
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