Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War

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Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men is an exciting narrative history offering fresh insights into many aspects of the Civil War.

"This is a lucid, edifying account of the Civil War era. Mr. Hummel has an impressive command of the relevant contemporary literature. His interpretations are thoughtful, often provocative, always well worth considering, Civil War buffs will want this book on their shelves". -- Kenneth M. Stampp University of California, Berkeley

"Hummel presents some uncomfortable truths for both sides of the Civil War. For the South, Hummel builds a case that the war was indeed about slavery. For the North, he shows that a war to preserve the union was morally bankrupt and that freeing the slaves was the only justifiable reason for fighting. Yet Hummel demonstrates that even a war for such a noble cause was probably unnecessary, since slavery was politically doomed in an independent South. Hummel also illustrates some of the cost of the war, such as Lincoln g suppression of political opposition, the closing of dissenting newspapers, and the creation of big government under Republicans Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant". -- Library Journal

"In this insightful treatment of the Civil War (addressing the causes, the war itself and Reconstruction), Hummel's text argues against the thesis that armed confrontation was inevitable. With its insight)d analysis (not to mention the extensive bibliographical essays that elaborate each chapter), Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men will supply both the academic and Civil War buff with an added perspective on the causes and consequences of the Civil War". -- Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews:

Careful scholarship and clear thinking.......2007-08-02

Hummel is careful, fair, and concise as he lays out the factual threads that comprise the American Civil War. It isn't until the epilogue, however, that we see what he's been making with these threads--a noose capable of hanging the myths that we all learned in school. Myth 1: Secession would have been bad for Northern whites and Southern blacks. Myth 2: Secession would have been good for slaveholders. Myth 3: The Civil War was a necessary war. Myth 4: The war was the only way, or at least the best way, to free the slaves. Myth 5: The objective of the war was to free the Southern slaves. Myth 6: Lincoln was an American hero who advanced the cause of freedom and democracy.

In truth, the Civil War was an unnecessary monstrosity whose blame rests with political leaders on both sides of the fight, but primarily with the idolized Lincoln.

Charles L. Hooper, coauthor of Making Great Decisions in Business and Life

Great expose on chattel vs. bourgeois slavery .......2006-08-20

Virtually all of mainstream history has been, sadly, written by the victors of the Civil War, and likewise exclusively taught in the victors' government-schools; as such, the caricatured image of chattel slavery is held up to symbolize the Confederacy-- in order to deny the real modern fact of BOURGEOIS slavery under modern corporate nationalism, which indeed symbolizes the Union-- and which the Civil War was actually intended to preserve and perpetuate.

Due to this resulting type of political illiteracy, books of this type are thus too rare-- and are too sorely needed to educate and enlighten via the facts vs. inaccurate caricatures and falsehoods.
Books such as "Who Moved my Cheese," underscore the severity of the relationship between the Civil War and modern corporate-serfdom, and thus Hummel explains how the Civil War broke down state barriers between the federal corporate-state and the people-- thus creating semi-feudal arrangements between state and industry, to thus exploit individuals via bureaucratizing freedom under state and federal law... thus preserving social classes in an otherwise class-free society.

I would have liked to see more expose on the "Horatio-Alger myth" commonly peddled by schools and the neoconservative right, whereby modern sociologists recognize that social-mobility in our modern society is greatly exaggerated-- as well as the exception which proves the rule... but which in reality is more of a "gold rush" analogy, where a few success-stories of "The American Dream" in reality hide the broken dreams and empty pockets of most. And as such, bourgeois slavery is the rule for those not born into wealth-- while "the American Dream" is just that, i.e. a dream.
However in all, this book makes this point quite well.

How we got today's welfare-warfare state.......2005-01-10

These days many of us wonder how it happened that the great ideals of the American Revolution, liberty and self-reliance, were overthrown and replaced by today's gigantic and ravenous welfare-warfare state. It is easy to blame Roosevelt and the New Deal, but many of his monstrous impositions only continued and expanded institutions that arose in the Progressive era earlier in the century. Hummel argues that we must look back farther, to the Civil War, as the beginning of the end of our Revolutionary experiment.

"The Civil War represents the simultaneous culmination and repudiation of the American Revolution," says Hummel. By ending slavery, it settled once and for all the great contradiction that had bedeviled the Republic from its beginning and whose resolution had been forestalled by several shaky Compromises prior to 1860. But while freeing the slaves, the War set the stage for the gradual enslavement of us all. The War legitimized the intrusion of the central government into virtually every aspect of our lives which is so evident today.

Slavery would have ended almost as quickly and at much lower costs in lives, treasure, and liberties, had the South been allowed to go peacefully, says Hummel. This is not because slavery was uneconomical -- it wasn't -- but because enforcement costs would have overwhelmed what Hummel calls the "peculiar institution." With secession, runaways would no longer have been captured and returned to the South. It would have been impossible for the Confederacy to effectively guard its long border. This would have virtually ended slavery in the border states of the South and eventually in the entire Confederacy.

Though Hummel's radical libertarian views will put off many
historians, they cannot ignore his careful scholarship and especially his extensive bibliographic essays. This is a seminal book that deserves careful study and follow-up.

interesting.......2004-07-24

interesting take on the issue, but the arguement that slavery was "on its way out," and therefore never to return, is weak. american chattel slavery had been "on its way out" decades before secession, but technological advancements (eli whitney's cotton engine, for instance), the opening of new land to slave owners, and general market fluctuations had spurned renewed interest (which means that slavery still paid off monetarily) in the peculiar institution. if there had been no civil war, COTTON slavery might well ground down to an insignificant (not insignificant if you're a slave, mind you) level during the later 1860's and early 1870's, but the exploitation of free labor, along with the social caste system that held it tight to the breast of southern culture would have stayed strong. as the cotton crop continued to garner less and less of a profit for planters, the south would have had to industrialize so as to not pull the united states into an economic black hole. in turn, the need for slaves to work factories, etc., would have been huge. let's not forget that the individual job a slave is made to do is not important when the topic is the hypothetical non-civil war future of american slavery. the importance of the issue lies in the fact that free labor will always be exploited to do the work at hand. this is why southern slavery would never have ended had there been no american civil war to force that end.

again, interesting book. but as long as free labor exists in a society, it will always be exploited, made to do whatever the kind of work that has to be done (cotton planting and picking, road construction, factory work, ship building, etc. and so-forth).

a must-read for Civil War buffs.......2002-08-11

The main thing I got out of this book was just how damaging Lincoln was to the cause of freedom in America. Lincoln trampled individual rights, jailing people indefinitely on his whim, instating the draft, even assaulting freedom of speech (which I think is one of the few freedoms left). From Hummel's Libertarian perspective, Lincoln was probably the worst president in history. The one thing that should be pointed out in Lincoln's defense is that war always involves curtailments of liberty and requires an essentially fascistic operation of the government. The problem is that the increased governmental power doesn't go away after the war ends. I think this book is very timely at this moment in history, as our current president is about to lead us into yet another war. The Constitution says that only Congress can declare war. That means that the United States cannot engage in any military action with another country unless two-thirds of Congress approves it. Yet, look at all the presidents who have committed U.S. troops to war without a Congressional declaration. Why isn't this seen as unConstitutional? Why aren't they talking about it on Face the Nation? What gave Truman the right to commit U.S. forces to fight in Korea? Why does everyone in the media assume that George Bush has the right to start a war with Iraq when he has no such constitutional authority? What gave Clinton the power to bomb an aspirin factory in the Sudan to divert attention from his sex scandals? I'll tell you who: it was Lincoln. He started the whole trend.

Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War.: An article from: Independent Review

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Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War.: An article from: Independent Review
Stanley L. Engerman
Manufacturer: Independent Institute
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This digital document is an article from Independent Review, published by Independent Institute on June 22, 1997. The length of the article is 1308 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War.
Author: Stanley L. Engerman
Publication: Independent Review (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1997
Publisher: Independent Institute
Volume: v2 Issue: n1 Page: p129(4)

Article Type: Book Review

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Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War

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Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MU864K

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The legacy of the Mongols has often been associated with their contributions to the arts of warfare and annals of horror. A more realistic association would be their contribution to international trade and cultural exchange. Spawning an empire ranging from Persia to China, Genghis Khan united a nomadic warrior culture that had lived with their agrarian neighbors through controlled and limited extortion. It was a society whose leaders waged successful war and increased the tribe's prosperity. But the Mongols also understood it would serve their purposes to maintain commerce and agriculture, and to cultivate the arts in order that the luxuries they coveted would be all the more readily available. It was to this end that, after the first decades of destruction and rampage, the Mongols' policy changed to one of cooption and governance. The Mongols became effective cultural brokers as they forced, urged, bribed and coerced the movement of artists and artisans, scientists and scholars around their empire. Thematic chapters provide an accessible overview of the Steppe people from which Genghis Khan emerged, and chronicle his ascent as the Great Khan, as he subdued enemies and then conquered lands to the east and west. Following are excellent overviews of the founding and cementing of Mongol rule in China--the Yuan Dynasty--and Persia, centered in Iran. A concluding chapter provides a fresh perspective of the Mongol empire and makes clear the relevance of this vast and influential period to the contemporary world. Useful endmatter for students and researchers includes sixteen biographical sketches of figures ranging from Yuan Dynasty founder Qubilai Khan to famed Italian merchant and traveler Marco Polo. A score of annotated primary documents provide immediate access to the issues of the period through the eyes of the people living through them. Five maps, an annotated timeline, a glossary and annotated bibliography and several illustrations round out this engaging and valuable resource.

Customer Reviews:

Good reading.......2005-01-13

I had went to the library to find the book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, by Jack Weatherford, after hearing about it on NPR. That book was checked out, but this one caught my eye, so I took this book instead. I enjoyed this book; it is fairly easy college-level reading. The book covers the life of Genghis Khan and his family, from one generation before him to 4 generations after him. In this time, the Mongols conquered the Eurasian landmass from Korea to the Baltic states. The book highlights the major battles of course, and also goes in depth to show how Mongol rule affected the local cultures and peoples, and vice versa.

The book includes reprints of primary documents (translated to English of course), provides a short biography of all the major Mongols, and is replete with references to other works. The book also does a good job in explaining how the same person / tribe / or place could go by different names, or several different spellings of the same name.

In all, I recommend this book.

Greenwood Press.(Politics And Population Control: A Documentary History)(American Statesmen: Secretaries Of State From John Jay To Colin Powell)(Magna ... Review): An article from: Library Bookwatch

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Greenwood Press.(Politics And Population Control: A Documentary History)(American Statesmen: Secretaries Of State From John Jay To Colin Powell)(Magna ... Review): An article from: Library Bookwatch
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Midwest Book Review
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Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Library Bookwatch, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2005. The length of the article is 538 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Greenwood Press.(Politics and Population Control: A Documentary History)(American Statesmen: Secretaries of State from John Jay to Colin Powell)(Magna Carta)(Genghis Khan and Mongol Rule)(Puebloan Society of Chaco Canyon)(Eleanor of Aquitaine, Courtly Love, and the Troubadours)(The Black Death)(The Crusades)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Library Bookwatch (Newsletter)
Date: February 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

Article Type: Brief Article, Book Review

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Genghis Khan and Mongol Rule
George Lane
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTP30O

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important

Superb and entertaining!

Statistics for non-scientists

This is what science should NOT be.

cheap arguments

Science Without Sense
Steven J. Milloy
Manufacturer: Cato Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1882577345

Customer Reviews:

important.......2001-07-10

I hold an MPH and have worked in public health for 15 years. Unfortunately, i witness examples of the type of "science" discussed in this book too often. I also witness consumers of such information misguided by it. Simply laid out, this is a good book for an introduction to the topic of, as colleagues have coined, the 'religion of public health' and 'rituals of funding.'

Superb and entertaining!.......2001-06-13

Milloy successfully debunks some of the public health scares of our age and shows how the methods and jargon of the public health profession can be misused to provoke fear. This book is your response to the scaremongers. If you've ever wondered how such nonsense as the theory that power lines and cell phones cause cancer can become national headlines, this book will explain it.

Statistics for non-scientists.......1999-09-12

Milloy's book is an excellent expose of the proliferating pseudo-scientists that are trying to obtain their 15 minutes of fame. As a retired biomedical scientist of some 40 years standing, I am aware that a statistical correlation is simply a mathematical relationship between two sets of numbers. As such it doesn't prove anything, it simply suggests a cause and effect.

For a real scientist, this correlation would be the beginning and would require proofs obtained by different independent methods. For the pseudo-scientist, however, this is the end point. As the author points out, it's much easier that way and who's going to know the difference. The American public receives a poor education in math and none in statistics.

I think this is a result of the 'publish or perish' syndrome; an awful lot of garbage is being produced. I think the author did a very good job of pointing out the weaknesses in much of the current 'epidemiology', and I think every lay person should read his book.

This is what science should NOT be........1999-06-10

While the issue of bias in science is quite important because it deals with ethical, academic, economic and political issues among others, the approach of this publication is quite a dissapointment. It is an example of how either economic/political agendas bias the interpretation of science and reinterprets other's conclusions. Unfortunately it falls exactly into the same arguments it criticizes and it does so in a quite simplistic and boring way. There are many really good books that address this issues. This book is just a waste of paper and ink.

cheap arguments.......1999-04-26

With weak pseudo-sientific arguments and a strong political agenda, this book is very much what it criticizes. Garbage.

Journeys of Women Without Custody: From Ambivalence to Renewed Sense of Self (Expanded Edition)

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Journeys of Women Without Custody: From Ambivalence to Renewed Sense of Self (Expanded Edition)
Annette Mayo Pagano Ph.D.
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1425954847

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Through the changing mores of American society, we have become tolerant of non-traditional families and flexible gender roles. When families experience the trauma of divorce, they have to adapt the best they can to altered economic and social circumstances. And while we smile indulgently at the concept of "Mr.Mom," the bumbling father who gamely throws himself into the difficult tasks of homemaking and nurturing children, we still harshly judge the mother who, for whatever reason, has relinquished or lost custody of her children. For many, that woman is a modern-day Medea; perceived to have sacrificed her children to satisfy her own selfish wants and needs. Non-custodial mothers and their image in society are the subject of this in-depth, compassionate study by Annette Mayo Pagano, Ph.D. Through a series of revealing interviews, Dr. Pagano examines the lives of nine women from all walks of life who redefine the role of mother in this non-traditional context.

Phoenix Without The Ashes: Achieving Organizational Excellence Through Common Sense Management

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Phoenix Without The Ashes: Achieving Organizational Excellence Through Common Sense Management
Gary English
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1574442198

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The quality management revolution has resulted in considerable trial and error as well as frustration. Here is a book that explores why many management trends don't translate into process improvement. It recommends establishing a condition of "rationality" as a guide and measure for all organizational and quality improvement efforts. Instead of imposing radical new "breakthroughs", Phoenix Without the Ashes: Achieving Organizational Excellence Through Common Sense Management suggests an approach that fits with the normal routines and operations of an organization in a way that makes sense. Part One of this text discusses the nature of common sense, and of quality as a condition of organizational excellence. In Part Two, the elements that negatively affect quality improvement are explained from an operating management perspective. Part Three looks at the impediments to improvement set by organizational structures. Part Four discusses the relationship among leadership, motivation, and organizational excellence, and Part Five suggests a rational strategy for effective, enduring organizational improvement. Managers in every industry will benefit from the information provided in Phoenix Without the Ashes.

Blitzkrieg: a new freedom to be feared: the US administration's developing sense of 'freedom' grants license to destroy without taking on any reciprocal ... current).: An article from: Arena Magazine

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Blitzkrieg: a new freedom to be feared: the US administration's developing sense of 'freedom' grants license to destroy without taking on any reciprocal ... current).: An article from: Arena Magazine
John Hinkson
Manufacturer: Arena Printing and Publications Pty. Ltd.
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Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Arena Magazine, published by Arena Printing and Publications Pty. Ltd. on June 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1236 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Blitzkrieg: a new freedom to be feared: the US administration's developing sense of 'freedom' grants license to destroy without taking on any reciprocal responsibility. (against the current).
Author: John Hinkson
Publication: Arena Magazine (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2003
Publisher: Arena Printing and Publications Pty. Ltd.
Page: 5(2)

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Making sense of government information restrictions: panic after September 11 led to bad policy; a more deliberate response can protect security without ... from: Issues in Science and Technology

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Making sense of government information restrictions: panic after September 11 led to bad policy; a more deliberate response can protect security without ... from: Issues in Science and Technology
Steven Aftergood
Manufacturer: National Academy of Sciences
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Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Issues in Science and Technology, published by National Academy of Sciences on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1168 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Making sense of government information restrictions: panic after September 11 led to bad policy; a more deliberate response can protect security without sacrificing beneficial access to government data. (Straight Talk).
Author: Steven Aftergood
Publication: Issues in Science and Technology (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Page: 25(2)

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"RAISE THE ALARM LOUDLY".(AIDS epidemic in Africa, health care)(Statistical Data Included): An article from: Dollars & Sense

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"RAISE THE ALARM LOUDLY".(AIDS epidemic in Africa, health care)(Statistical Data Included): An article from: Dollars & Sense
Akin Jimoh
Manufacturer: Economic Affairs Bureau
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Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Dollars & Sense, published by Economic Affairs Bureau on May 1, 2001. The length of the article is 2018 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: "RAISE THE ALARM LOUDLY".(AIDS epidemic in Africa, health care)(Statistical Data Included)
Author: Akin Jimoh
Publication: Dollars & Sense (Newsletter)
Date: May 1, 2001
Publisher: Economic Affairs Bureau
Page: 16

Article Type: Statistical Data Included

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The macrocosm and microcosm, or The universe without and the universe within: Being an unfolding of the plan of creation and the correspondence of truths, ... in the world of sense and the world of soul

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The macrocosm and microcosm, or The universe without and the universe within: Being an unfolding of the plan of creation and the correspondence of truths, ... in the world of sense and the world of soul
William Fishbough
Manufacturer: Fowler and Wells
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Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B00088XNIA

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This digital document is an article from Environmental Law, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2005. The length of the article is 26244 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: This article investigates the viability of the capture metaphor by considering a rather obscure section of the 1866 mining law known as R.S. 2477 winch grants to state and local governments "the right of way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses." Although R.S 2477 was repealed with the passage of the Federal Land PoKey Management Act (FLPMA) in 1976, FLPMA also promised to preserve valid existing rights, meaning that any R.S. 2477 right-of-way created prior to 1976 would not be lost. Given the vast number of R.S. 2477 claims and because designation of wilderness generally requires an area to be roadless, the presence of an R.S. 2477 road can have significant consequences. The actual impact of the statute depends upon what sort of activities amount to "construction" under the statute. Whether R.S. 2477 is understood as an improvement rule requiring self-conscious, mechanical construction, as the environmental community suggests, or as a capture rule allowing construction to be accomplished by mere use, the so-called "beaten path "standard advocated by states and rural counties, depends in part on whether the capture metaphor is an accurate characterization of nineteenth century public land and natural resources law.

Citation Details
Title: Questioning the rule of capture metaphor for nineteenth century public land law: a look at R.S. 2477.(The Rule of Capture and Its Consequences)
Author: James R. Rasband
Publication: Environmental Law (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 35 Issue: 4 Page: 1005(43)

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