History of New Jersey - Slavery in Monmouth County, NJ
Written: Nov 04 '07
Product Rating:
Pros: Explores the less studied practice of slavery in the Northern states of America
Cons: A narrow view of slavery as it focuses on one tiny region in the US
The Bottom Line: I would not recommend this book for pleasure reading. However, if you are looking for a scholarly work for a research project this is full of useful information.
jiastar's Full Review: Graham Russell Hodges - Slavery and Freedom in the...
My own education prior to attending college in regards to slavery typically depicted it existing solely in the south. The Northern region of the United States was generally portrayed in textbooks and literature alike to be a safe haven for slaves to escape to. As a result, it was a surprise to read a study of slavery that limited itself to the experiences of enslaved African Americans not just in the North, but in Monmouth County, New Jersey where I myself have resided since the age of sixteen.
Slavery and Freedom in the Rural North, is a work which grew out of lectures and pamphlets that were originally commissioned by the Monmouth County Park System as well as other writings by its author Graham Hodges. It focuses on the African American experience in Monmouth County because it held the one of the densest population of rural blacks in the Mid-Atlantic region at the time. It explores 200 years in the history and in the life conditions of African Americans, enslaved and free, spanning from the earliest slave settlements in the colonies up to the eventual passing of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 which finally abolished slavery completely.
Hodges holds little back and makes his position clear while still in the introduction that the conditions slaves lived under, whether considered to be mild or harsh, are for the most part irrelevant in the light of slavery being a crime against humanity just by its very existence. His position does not change as the text continues and he puts forth the words of Olaudah Equiano “some of the poor (in Great Britain and Ireland) suffer greater hardships than many of the slaves, … bad as it is, the poorest in England would not change their situation for that of slaves” to allow us the readers to try to grasp the misery experienced by African American slaves.
One of the things that I found to be of interest was that the laws of East Jersey passed in 1683. Many of these laws could only govern the actions of slaves indirectly. As enslaved blacks were not citizens their actions could not specifically be governed by legislation, it would have been thought akin to attempting to restrict the actions of a chicken of hog by similar means. Instead, black slaves found their actions regulated by laws which controlled the actions of the whites who owned them or who lived in their community. An example would be seen in laws which prohibited whites from providing alcohol to blacks via sale or barter. Additionally, while these laws were supposed to protect enslaved blacks with the same rights to justice if charged with a capital crime, a black slave was still often victim to punishments which exceeded penalties which could legally be applies to white citizens. An example is seen in the case of the slaves Agebee and Jeremy who, when found guilty of the crime of murdering their master had their hands cut off and burned before them prior to being hung to death.
Even as manumission became commonplace it was no solution. Unfortunately, freedom came slowly and with great difficulty for the black population of New Jersey. Many blacks existed in a limbo where they were neither fully free, nor enslaved. They had no right to vote, they could not hold office, and if they became paupers they were returned to the care of their previous master. Additionally, while some free blacks achieved the goals of land ownership, this was an exception and not the rule.
Overall, while my opinion of this book as a scholarly text is high I have to say that for me it was a tedious read. It did not capture my emotions or imagination in the way that The Pine Barrens by John McPhee managed to do. Additionally I found the footnotes at each chapters end to be distracting and wished that they had been held to the end of the book instead. However, I was pleased that the book included an index which allows one to easily find a reference to a specific person, place, or event.
Furthermore, I was displeased with the number of primary documents that were featured in Slavery and Freedom in the Rural North. While the text includes a small number of maps, photographs, letters, etc. my initial hope upon opening the volume was to find a great many more. Additionally, these maps and documents were hard to discern in regards to fine details and therefore lend little to the average reader’s experience. Nevertheless, in spite of my nitpicking negatives, I fully expect that this title will stay on my bookshelf for many years to come as a reference that I can use in my future college courses, but also that my children can use as they advance through their own educations as well.
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