Wednesday, February 20, 2008

From Property to Person

Today, I am reading From Property to Person: Slavery and the Confiscation Acts, 1861-1862 by Silvana R Siddali:
The second – and much more serious – attack on slavery occurred under the proposed confiscation legislation. This came under much more debate in Congress because such legislation raised significant questions about who controlled the conduct of the war, and because, according to conservatives such as Congressman John Crittenden, it directly interfered with internal institutions within states. Emancipation legislation extended congressional control (to its utmost limits) over the South's peculiar institution, but it did so within constitutionally sanctioned parameters.

I'm starting to think about my research papers for the semester, and I feel like I have to come up with something good for my Civil War class - maybe even something publishable. Why? Well, I don't think there's much demand on the ever-tightening job market for 17th century Puritan-lovers. If I do get a job, I will definitely have to teach the 19th century if I want the leisure to also teach the 18th and the 17th. Since my dissertation will be situated in the earlier years, it would be great if I could have an unrelated article on something 19th centuryish just to prove that I have the chops.
Currently, I'm going through some secondary literature, looking for evidence of how slaves imagined the North. I don't know if it's going anywhere, but we shall soon see.

Also, happy birthday, Mom!

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