Elderly Slaves of the Plantation South

by Close,Stacey K.

• ISBN13: 9780815327561
• ISBN10: 0815327560
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-12-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Elderly slaves contributed substantially to the creation and perpetuation of the unique African American culture and antebellum plantation society in the South. Interwoven with this major argument are two subthemes. One centers on the fact that by the late antebellum period elderly slaves were some of the chief transmitters of Africanism; the other focuses on how gender based distinctions of the elderly became blurred. Although the roles of the elderly often changed, elderly slaves contributed to the plantation economy. It is also true that those old people who were incapacitated posed serious economic and social concerns for owners, although many of the problems of elderly care were solved by the compassion of slave community members (Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1992; revised with new preface and index)

Table of Contents

Dedication	v	(4)
Acknowledgments	ix	(2)
Preface	xi
I Belief About the Aged	3	(10)
II Elderly Slaves and the Slave Community	13	(20)
III The Old Butlers, Companions, and Drivers	33	(12)
IV Elderly Slaves: Social, Economic, and Health Concerns	45	(18)
V Nearer to Thee: Old Women in the Quarters	63	(16)
VI Varying Degrees: Old Slave Women and Owners	79	(18)
Conclusion	97	(6)
Bibliography	103	(16)
Subject and Name Index	119