<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>Most Americans, both black and white, believe that slavery was a system exclusively maintained by whites to exploit blacks, but Larry Koger's authoritative study reveals the extent to which African Americans played a significant role as slave masters in the peculiar institution. By examining South Carolina's diverse population of African-American slaveowners, Koger demonstrates that free African Americans widely embraced slavery as a viable economic system and that they--like their white counterparts--exploited the labor of slaves on their farms and in their businesses.<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br>Most Americans, both black and white, believe that slavery was a system maintained by whites to exploit blacks, but this authoritative study reveals the extent to which African Americans played a significant role as slave masters. Examining South Carolina's diverse population of African-American slaveowners, the book demonstrates that free African Americans widely embraced slavery as a viable economic system and that they--like their white counterparts--exploited the labor of slaves on their farms and in their businesses. Drawing on the federal census, wills, mortgage bills of sale, tax returns, and newspaper advertisements, the author reveals the nature of African-American slaveholding, its complexity, and its rationales. He describes how some African-American slave masters had earned their freedom but how many others--primarily mulattoes born of free parents--were unfamiliar with slavery's dehumanization.<p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>"artfully demonstrates the full extent"--<i>Choice</i>; "a valuable reference work...powerful history...well done"--<i>Charleston News & Courier</i>; "thought-provoking study"--<i>The Journal of Southern History</i>; "interesting and valuable...worthwhile"--<i>Daily News</i>; (Bowling Green, Kentucky) "intensive examination...provocative...fascinating and remarkable information"--<i>Georgia Historical Quarterly</i>; "a useful study that should stimulate further research on the status and history of free black slaveholders"--<i>The North Carolina Historical Review.</i><br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br>Historian <b>Larry Koger</b> lives in Largo, Maryland.