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In a groundbreaking study of the day-to-day law and culture of slavery,
Ariela Gross investigates the local courtrooms of the Deep South where
ordinary people settled their disputes over slaves. Buyers sued sellers for
breach of warranty when they considered slaves to be physically or morally
defective; owners sued supervisors who whipped or neglected slaves under
their care. "Double Character" seeks to explain how communities dealt with an
important dilemma raised by these trials: how could slaves who acted as
moral agents be treated as commodities? Because these cases made the
character of slaves a central legal question, slaves' moral agency intruded
into the courtroom, often challenging the character of slaveholders who saw
themselves as honorable masters. Gross looks at the stories about white and
black character that witnesses and litigants put forth in court. She not
only reveals the role of law in constructing "race" but also offers a
portrait of the culture of slavery, one that addresses historical debates
about law, honor, and commerce in the American South.
Cloth | 2000 | $39.50 ISBN: 0-691-05957-8
272 pp. | 6 x 9 | 17 halftones, 11 tables
For more information, click here:
http://pup.princeton.edu/titles/6949.html
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