Honor and Slavery

by Kenneth S. Greenberg

Do you know ...

• why two Charleston gentlemen nearly came to blows over P.T. Barnum's Feejee Mermaid?
• why some Southern slaveholders admired John Brown?
• why in the old South, it was a dire insult to pull somebody's nose?

If not, pick up a copy of Kenneth S. Greenberg's fascinating cultural study, Honor and Slavery: Lies, Duels, Noses, Masks, Dressing as a Woman, Gifts, Strangers, Humanitarianism, Death, Slave Rebellions, The Proslavery Argument, Baseball, Hunting, and Gambling in the Old South.

>As the lengthy subtitle suggests, this book shows how a number of attitudes Southern gentlemen associated with "honor" -- such as fighting duels, facing death bravely, and showering one's associates with gifts -- were linked to the culture of slavery.

Mr. Greenberg then uses the framework of this "language of honor" to explain some even more interesting phenomena: why the Northern press insisted Jefferson Davis was wearing women's clothing when captured; why Andrew Jackson vehemently denied anybody had ever pulled his nose; and why baseball, a working man's game, never caught on in the South before the Civil War.

This intriguing book will surprise, entertain, and give you a new way of thinking about honor in the Old South.

Honor and Slavery is available from amazon.com.

 

Return to Recommended Reading

Return to Austin Civil War Round Table Home Page