When I became a Civil War reenactor and living historian (there is a difference between the two) I discovered that many apologists for slavery often put in an appearance at reenactments. Often these are not reenactors, but white supremacists types who belong to several different organizations. They have swallowed the entire "Gone With the Wind" and "Birth of a Nation" genre and have arguments that blacks loved their masters and were better off as slaves.

There are so many good books that tear these theories apart, but this one may be the best. This book is especially well referenced and those references are cited throughout. Jordan was Assistant Professor and Associate Curator, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library when he wrote the book. As Virginia had more black slaves than any other Southern state, the actions and beliefs of the slaves in that state probably serve as the typical stereotype for most slaves in the South. Loaded with statistics and personal stories, this book is very well written and informative.

However, this issue is not entirely black and white (pun intended) as slaves and freemen had bad experiences with Yankees and the Union Army. There are several chapters that also show how a number of slaves and freemen were loyal to the South, served their masters, and even fought in battle on the Confederate side.

If you are looking for how slaves and freemen in the South felt toward themselves, whites, Southerners and Yankees, this is the book to read. It is an objective rendering of the entire subject with information on the good and bad of both sides. The next time you get into a discussion of how Afro-Americans felt toward their masters, white Southerners, Yankees and the war, this book will prove invaluable in providing the truth

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