On Jordan's Banks

by Bigham, Darrel E.

• ISBN13: 9780813123660
• ISBN10: 0813123666
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky

Summary

"The story of the Ohio River and its settlements is an integral part of American history, particularly during the country's westward expansion. The vibrant African American communities along the Ohio's banks, however, have rarely been studied in depth. Blacks have lived in the Ohio River Valley since the late eighteenth century, and because the river divided the free labor North and the slave labor South, black communities faced unique challenges." "In On Jordan's Banks, Darrel E. Bigham examines the lives of African Americans in the counties along the northern and southern banks of the Ohio River both before and in the years directly following the Civil War. Gleaning material from biographies and primary sources written as early as the 1860s, as well as public records, Bigham separates historical truth from the legends that grew up surrounding these communities."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

Darrel E. Bigham is professor of history and director of the Historic Southern Indiana organization at the University of Southern Indiana.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword	vii
Preface	ix
Map: Lower Ohio RiverValley, 1880	2	(3)
Prologue: The Ohio River Valley as a Region	5	(8)
Part One: Before the War
1. Uneasy Slavery in Kentucky along the Ohio	13	(20)
2. Incomplete Freedom on the North Shore	33	(26)
Part Two: The Impact of the Civil War on Blacks
3. Conflict and Remnants of Slavery on the South Shore	59	(22)
4. Blacks and Whites Together and Apart on the North Shore	81	(24)
Part Three: The Postwar Years
5. Population and Residential Patterns	105	(24)
6. Free and Equal, with Opportunities and Pains	129	(26)
7. Citizenship and Civil Rights after the Fourteenth Amendment	155	(22)
8. The Progress of Blacks and the Ballot Box	177	(24)
9. Making a Living	201	(28)
10. Families and Community Life	229	(18)
11. Black Society	247	(24)
12. Schools for Blacks	271	(28)
Epilogue: From the 1890's to the Great Depression	299	(16)
Appendix: Population Tables	315	(88)
Notes 331 Index	403