Comments on: Soul by Soul II

By: CW Rastall

CW Rastall — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:06:15 +0000

The paragraph written on Tuesday:

Slaveholder paternalism was an ideal excuse to try and justify how it was possible to supress a man’s natural rights. To try and break free from this corrupt nature of the white man, enslaved person’s of the time struggled to find unity and brothership for no single one person could maintain an independent way of life. Johnson drove home the fact that the human property rumored to be called “slaves” lived in fear, and that hindered them to make their own revolution and depended on the vanilla faced men of the north to liberate them. Though the market for slave trade made a lot people rich and a lot of people enslaved, it solidified just how real the issue was. Those living under the Chattel Principle did what they could to not fall victim to such a deed. This was accomplished by many a way: running away, self-mutalation, embracing their culture, finding Jesus, and working the minimum without being beaten mercilessly or sold, but not to become an asset either.

By: Scott T Nichols

Scott T Nichols — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 02:26:25 +0000

Johnson’s outlook at the slave on the market table and the methods slave traders and owners used to justify this mean of atrocity was much like how the movie Amistad really brought another look to slavery. Growing up all I ever learned was that slaves were brought to America, they were owned, they were freed by the Civil War and then African Americans continued to face adversity up to modern day. There was never much detail into the slave trade itself and like Amistad, Johnson’s book really hits home to what slaves experienced and really challenges the moral fiber of the early American white slaveholder.

By: David Voelker

David Voelker — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:22:51 +0000

Walter Johnson wrote a retrospective review of Eugene Genovese’s Roll, Jordan, Roll. It includes some great comments on paternalism and slave resistance, in particular. Here’s a link:

http://tinyurl.com/2dm8lz

By: Tina H.

Tina H. — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:24:18 +0000

Johnson wrote “Soul By Soul” and pointed out numerous things about slaves that many of us did not know before. Slaves became the popular market seller. They were not considered people, they were an item that everyone must have. The whites used the chattel principle to rationalize what they were doing. They claimed the blacks were better with them than alone; they felt as though they had to parent the blacks so they could survive. But how could you be a parent to something you can sell without hesitation? The whites used the slaves to gain class in society, the more they had, the better they were, and the more they were worth, the more rich you were. Slaves were used as a commodity, if a white person went into debt, they could just sell a slave. The slaves have always been portrayed as being unintelligent, but Johnson shows us that they actually knew how to manipulate their situation. They could run away, harm themselves, or purposely get themselves returned. The slaves did not know their value the white men placed on them; however, they knew enough of their value to control whether or not they were sold. White men kept books on the value of their slaves, rather than the value of other assets, since slaves were seen as their most precious asset.

By: Amadna Crump

Amadna Crump — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:36:34 +0000

Not only did Johnson shed new light on the world that encompassed slavery, but he gave first hand accounts for the cruelty that the slaves lived and died in. He gives examples of how slave traders and holders would evaluate their slaves but also what the slaves themselves were thinking as well. New slaves could judge the situation that they were being sold into by the look of the old slaves, by the difficult of work, and the provisions that the slave holder provided. These slaves knew what was going on around them at all times; it was a matter of life and death for them and Johnson shows that excellently.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:21:32 +0000

The book “Soul by Soul” takes the way we look and our understanding of antebellum slavery to a whole new level. I believe Johnson takes a social historian’s point of view on the antebellum South. Johnson studies the slave pens and the everyday attitudes of slaveholders to fully understand the complex social structure that slavery posed on the antebellum South. As Johnson points out the institute of slavery defined the level one could reach in the South’s social pecking order. A man or woman was not fully independent until they were a slaveholder and even then if they had a debt owed on the slave they could not claim the slave as fully their own. Even being striped of most of their human rights slaves were able to control parts of their lives by manipulate and lying to slaveholders and slave traders. Gaining their trust slave were able to escape and do a multiple of activities generally not allowed to a slave in the antebellum South. Johnson’s “Soul by Soul” took us into the real underbelly of the antebellum South; taking us through the process of turning a human into a slave and the social structure that in produced.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:42:28 +0000

I totally agree that Johnson did something other authors had not done. He put such facts in his writing that made me so angry individuals could be treated this way, but yet I wanted to read more. Slaves were trated not like humans, but property that could be sold any day. Slaves made a family become white because the owners no longer had to do the work themselves. Slaves didn’t know where they would be the next day, but they knew they would basically be stepping into a situation similar to the one they were in.

By: Corey Livieri

Corey Livieri — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:19:16 +0000

The book “Soul by Soul” was an untraditional history of slavery in the United States. Many other historians have explored how slaves were treated on the plantations, but they have not done what Johnson did. Johnson chose to research the actual business of the slave trade. The book gave stories and records of the slave market, but also some shocking details about what slaves did to avoid being sold. Some slaves killed themselves, and even their loved ones, to prevent the traders from turning them into commodity. Also, many others lied about themselves and cut off fingers to decrease their own value, just to stay out of the plantations for a little longer. Overall, this account gave a very different, and interesting outlook of slaves’ transformations from human beings to profit.