Seizing the New Day

Wilbert L. Jenkins

Description

Former slaves take hold of their destinies in post-Civil War South Carolina

"Seizing the New Day is a good book, carefully researched, logically organized, and clearly written. . . . an excellent model for others who would study change at the local level in this fascinating period of American history. And the volume is handsomely illustrated with well-chosen photographs, drawings, and maps."—H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences

For former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, life was a constant struggle adjusting to freedom while battling whites' attempts to regain control. Using autobiographies, slave narratives, Freedmen's Bureau letters and papers, and other primary documents, Wilbert L. Jenkins attempts to understand how the freedmen saw themselves in the new order and to shed light on their hopes and aspirations. He emphasizes, not the defeat of these aspirations, but rather the victories the freedmen won against white resistance.

Sujets

• Ethnic Studies
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• América
• General officer
• Politics
• History of the Americas
• African American
• General
• American
• United States

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253028297
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

SEZING THE NEW DAY
BLACKS IN THE DIASPORA   Darlene Clark Hine, John McCluskey, Jr., and David Barry Gaspar    GENERAL EDITORS
SEZING THE NEW DAY African Americans in Post—Civil War Charleston

WILBERT L. JENKINS           Indiana University Press     Bloomington and Indianapolis
Title Page Art Courtesy of the N.C. Division of Archives and History
 
© 1998 by Wilbert L. Jenkins
 
All rights reserved
 
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
 
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1984.
 
Manufactured in the United States of America
 
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 
Jenkins, Wilbert L., date
Seizing the new day : African Americans in post-Civil War Charleston / Wilbert L.Jenkins.
p.   cm. — (Blacks in the diaspora) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN: 978–0–253–21609–0
1. Freedmen—South Carolina—Charleston—History—19th century. 2. Afro-Americans—South Carolina—Charleston—History—19th century. 3. Afro-Americans—History—1863–1877. 4. Charleston (S.C.)—Race relations.    I. Title.    II. Series.
F279.C49N427   1998
305.896′073075791—dc21                                   97-49399
1   2   3   4   5   03   02   01   00   99   98
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. THE DARK BEFORE THE DAWN
Black Charleston before Emancipation
2. THANK GOD WE ARE A FREE PEOPLE
Emancipation Arrives in Charleston
3. WE ONLY ASK FOR A CHANCE
The Struggle of Charleston’s Freedmen for Economic Independence
4. WE GOTTA GET US SOME BOOK LERNIN’
The Role of Black Charlestonians in Freedmen’s Literacy
5. WE ARE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Black Family and Community Life in Charleston during Reconstruction
6. WE MUST HAVE OUR OWN HOUSE OF WORSHIP
The Exit of Charleston’s Freedmen from White Churches
7. FREEDOM IS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE
Resistance and Self-Protection by Charleston’s Freedmen
EPILOGUE
The Light of Freedom, Justice, and Equality Brightens, Dims, and Then Darkens 153
Appendix
Notes
Bibliographical Essay
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Because this is my first book I wish to use these first pages to acknowledge the many people who have directed, nurtured, and influenced me over the years. Ernest, Robert, and the late Grace Clark encouraged me to pursue a career in education. My brother Joseph Jenkins, Jr. took it upon himself to guide me through all the university admissions and registration procedures. He even drove me to prospective universities and offered words of support to a nervous freshman. My parents, Joe (now deceased) and Elizabeth Jenkins, my grandmother Sadie Barbour, and my brother-in-law and sister, Charles and Doris Strickland, have always been sources of strength and inspiration to me. My aunts Fannie Sanders and Martha Neal and my uncle Jimmy Debnam (all now deceased) were models of courage and perseverance, and in their own ways added immeasurably to my life. I wish to thank James McLaughlin of Winston-Salem State University for his important mentoring during my early years as a student there and for his continuing close friendship.
I would like to acknowledge my appreciation to Harry Reed, who, as my dissertation advisor, my teacher, and my friend, guided this study from its infant stage at Michigan State University and later read and commented on the first drafts of the book. Other members of my dissertation committee were always encouraging and helpful, particularly David Bailey, Richard Thomas, and John Coogan. Darlene Clark Hine of Michigan State University, though not officially a member of my dissertation committee, has throughout my academic career offered moral support and professional guidance, striking a fine balance between much-appreciated concern and much-needed criticism. Darlene Clark Hine is also the one who brought my book to the attention of Indiana University Press. Some of my colleagues in the History Department at Temple University read and commented on the dissertation and first drafts of the book. I thank Bettye Collier-Thomas, Kenneth Kusmer, Dieu Nguyen, and Teshale Tibebu for the time, effort, and energy they expended in this endeavor. Scott Snyder of the Social Science Data Library at Temple University did all the statistical calculations, and I am grateful for his contribution. I benefited tremendously from comments and suggestions by colleagues from other schools as well. Robert Maxon of West Virginia University and Paul Salstrom, formerly of West Virginia University, offered invaluable criticism of various chapters. Ken Fones-Wolf of West Virginia University, Nell Painter of Princeton University, Joe W. Trotter of Carnegie-Mellon University, and Peter Wood of Duke University also made useful and insightful comments on several chapters. Many of my ideas and interpretations were developed in discussions with my students at West Virginia University and Temple University, and I hope they recognize my debt to them.
I was financially assisted in this research by a dissertation support award from the Urban Affairs Department at Michigan State University, two dissertation support awards from the Department of History at Michigan State University, a dissertation support award from Michigan State University, and a predoctoral fellowship from the University of Rochester. A faculty senate grant from West Virginia University and a summer research fellowship from Temple University enabled me to complete the research and writing.
I would like to thank the staffs at the following libraries and archives for their aid in this research: Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Library in Atlanta, Georgia; the University of Georgia Library at Athens; the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Perkins Library at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; University of Rochester Library in Rochester, New York; Michigan State University Libraries in East Lansing; Colson Library at West Virginia University, Morgantown; Paley Library at Temple University, Philadelphia; the South Carolina Historical Society in Charleston; the Avery Research Center for African-American History and Culture, Charleston; the Library of Congress and the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; and the Moorland-Spingarn Reading Room at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
I wish also to thank the many friends and fellow graduate students who contributed to the completion of this work. Lauren Larsen, Joseph Windham, and Ibrahim Kargbo encouraged my research on postwar Charleston even after we had parted at Howard University. Walter Hill’s friendship and assistance made my task easier. Joseph Sedgo, Chris Murray, Anthony Cheeseboro, Judie Fawcett, Gordon Morrell, Chris Hamel, Chris Conti, Neerja Chaturvedi, Amy Livingstone-Thompson, Abannik Hino, and David Sterling-Decker all listened patiently and made suggestions during all the research. Miles Allen spent several long hot days in Charleston helping to collect data, and Joseph, Claudia, and Frances Neal provided hospitality and lodging that enabled me to undertake the initial writing in a comfortable setting. Learthen Dorsey, Peg Sterling-Decker, Mike Unsworth, E. Joseph Reed, and Clarence Hooker all made their own special contributions to the final product. I extend my appreciation to Rhonda Johnson, Joanne Follmer, and Patricia Williams of the staff of the History Department at Temple University for continually prodding me to finish the book. Thanks also go to Jo Dohoney for typing and editing the first drafts of the book manuscript. Deborah Stuart graciously edited the final draft and I am most appreciative.
Most of all, I am indebted to my wife, Mary Montaque-Jenkins, for her generosity of spirit, sharp intellect, friendship, love, and support. To her I dedicate this book.
INTRODUCTION
The history of the American South in the first decade after the Civil War has been richly documented by twentieth-century scholars. We have detailed analyses of the roles played by both black and white political leaders during Reconstruction and accounts of the lives of the Lees, the Ellisons, the De Costas, and other members of Charleston’s mulatto elite. We have in-depth studies of the responses of the illiterate black masses to emancipation and Reconstruction. 1 Most of these studies, however, focus on responses at the regional and state levels; few examine the local level. To complement these earlier studies and help provide a more complete account of the black experience between 1865 and 1877, I examine here how former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, responded to emancipation and Reconstruction during this crucial period in the transition from slavery to freedom, looking first at their day-to-day experiences under slavery. Charleston is one of the most researched cities in nineteenth-century Ameri