Slavery, the Civil Law, and the Supreme Court of Louisiana / Edition 1

by Judith Kelleher Schafer

Overview

Winner of the Francis Butler Simkins Award for 1995 and the 1994 General L. Kemper Williams Prize

In what may be the most impressive research to date of state supreme court records, this study analyzes the evolution of Loui siana’s slave laws from the territorial period to the Civil War. Schafer presents numerous concise case his tories, stories that are fascinating and at times heartbreaking in the particulars they reveal about slaves’ existence. Anyone interested in slavery will find Schafer’s work riveting reading, for it depicts in detail, probably better than most fictional or narrative accounts, what living in bondage could mean.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807121658
Publisher:	Louisiana State University Press
Publication date:	03/01/1997
Series:	Southern Literary Studies
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	412
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

JUDITH KELLEHER SCHAFER is the author of several books, including Brothels, Depravity, and Abandoned Women: Illegal Sex in Antebellum New Orleans and Becoming Free, Remaining Free: Manumission and Enslavement in New Orleans, 1846 –1862. She lives in New Orleans with her husband.

Editorial Reviews

Schafer’s book is filled with . . . true stories. The myths of Louisiana history [are] entertaining, but the truth is even more compelling.

New Orleans Times-Picayune

Clearly written, grounded on prodigious research in judicial records, and enlivened by details of scores of individual cases, this book contributes significantly to an understanding of the legal status of slaves in a state whose legacy of Roman, Spanish, and French law rendered it unique among the states of the antebellum South.

Civil War History

Analyzes the evolution of Louisiana's slave laws from the territorial period to the Civil War, drawing in part on material recently made available by the Louisiana Supreme Court, and appeals involving slaves as plaintiffs, defendants, and objects in lawsuits and criminal actions. Topics include sources of slave law, the treatment of slaves accused of crimes, foreign and domestic slave trade, the emancipation of slave mistresses, and suits for freedom. Includes b&w illustrations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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