Slavery on Trial: Race, Class, and Criminal Justice in Antebellum Richmond, Virginia
(Part of the New Perspectives on the History of the South Series)
No Customer Reviews
Select Format
Select Condition 
Book Overview
By the mid-nineteenth century, Richmond was one of the preeminent industrial centers in the South, with a level of criminal activity that reflected its size. Slavery on Trial examines more than 7,000 criminal cases recorded between 1830 and 1860, ranging from sensational murders to minor misdemeanors. Although the criminal justice system in antebellum Virginia was explicitly designed to support slaveholders' rule, James Campbell reveals that, in practice, trials and punishments sometimes subverted elite interests. Rather than serving as an unproblematic prop of the slave regime, law enforcement and court proceedings in Richmond revealed class, race, and gender tensions. Campbell shows that considerations of race and slavery infused every criminal case in Richmond, even when slaves were not directly involved as victims or defendants. He also considers the relationship between judicial processes and social, cultural, and political developments in the city. Slavery on Trial is a sobering portrait of the administration of racially constructed laws. It exposes the contradictions inherent in antebellum Southern law, and examines the implications those contradictions had for slaves, free blacks, poor whites, immigrants, and women.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:081303566X
ISBN13:9780813035666
Release Date:November 2010
Publisher:University Press of Florida
Length:288 Pages
Weight:1.17 lbs.
Dimensions:0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"
Customer Reviews
0 rating
Copyright © 2025 Thriftbooks.com
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information | Cookie Policy | Cookie Preferences | Accessibility Statement
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
