The Meaning Of Freedom

In The Meaning of Freedom scholars from a wide variety of disciplines contemplate the aftermath of slavery, focusing on Caribbean societies and the southern United States. They attempt to answer the questions about culture, economics, and politics central to this issue.

In this interdisciplinary study, scholars consider the aftermath of slavery, focusing on Caribbean societies and the southern United States. What was the nature and impact of slave emancipation? Did the change in legal status conceal underlying continuities in American plantation societies? Was there a common postemancipation pattern of economic development? How did emancipation affect the politics and culture of race and class? This comparative study addresses precisely these types of questions as it makes a significant contribution to a new a growing field.