The Evangelical War against Slavery and Caste: The Life and Times of John G. Fee, and: Clergy Dissent in the Old South, 1830-1865 (review)

BOOK reviews343 Greenberg isolates then contextualizes phrases, gestures, and behaviors of nineteenth-century Southerners in order to clarify the inherent values of their culture. He draws the reader to his work with instances ofpuzzling behavior on the part of his subjects, which he then explains in relation to three concepts: public persona as reality, generosity and gift-giving as evidence of status, and control over life and death as a reflection of authority. One ofhis most interesting "translations" ofthe language ofhonor deals with his analysis oftruth and reality. In the language ofhonor, that which was visible or apparent to the world was ofcritical importance, since image was considered a reflection of true character. Men of honor valued physical appearance and public behavior, both of which had to remain unblemished, or at least the man ofhonor had to prevent others from exposing the truth behind his "mask."White Southerners assumed lying was common among slaves, but the word of a man of honor was always assumed to be truthful. The determination of truth between master and slave was, however, based on possessing the power to unmask . As Greenberg points out, "Both masters and slaves dressed up for the masquerade ball of slavery, but it was only masters who felt strong enough to walk around the ballroom pulling off the masks of their slaves" (33). Honor and Slavery makes a valuable contribution to the study of the Old South by providing readers with a fresh perspective on relationships between masters and slaves, Northerners and Southerners, and rich and poor. Greenberg applies his translation of the language of honor to a variety of situations—gift giving, humanitarianism, dueling, sports, and leisure activities—to demonstrate the centrality of this language to the culture of men of honor. His interpretation ofthe antebellum culture is thought-provoking and should encourage other scholars to test his translation of this "language" in their own investigations of antebellum Southern life. Since Greenberg's work focuses mainly on white males, it would be interesting to examine the phrases, gestures, and behaviors of white women andAfrican American men and women to determine the extent to which their values reflected the culture of honor. Beverly Greene Bond University of Memphis The Evangelical War against Slavery and Caste: The Life and Times ofJohn G. Fee. By Victor B. Howard. (Selinsgrove, Pa.: Susquehanna University Press, 1996. Pp. 261. $41.50.) Clergy Dissent in the Old South, 1830-1865. By David B. Cheseborough. (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1996. Pp. xiii, 136. $29.95.) "John G. Fee is a unique and rare figure in antislavery literature," writes Howard (19). This is no small commendation considering the many true "characters" who preached and wrote on either side ofthe slavery issue up through the Civil 344CIVIL WAR HISTORY War. Fee (1816-1901) is unique, as Howard shows through meticulous research, in three ways: he was Southern-born (Kentucky); he stayed in the South while he worked for abolition; and he maintained that nonviolence was the proper means of confronting the slave power. He disdained the security of the North, unlike many of the abolitionists, accepting the physical violence that he suffered time and again with great personal courage and restraint. Educated atAugusta College in Kentucky, he studied for the ministry at Lane Theological Seminary near Cincinnati. His abolitionist stance was reinforced there by Lyman Beecher and Calvin Stowe. Ordained, he became active in the parish ministry, striving for interracial congregations. A tireless worker, he also was active in antislavery circles. He advocated giving Bibles to slaves, procuring emancipation for slaves, and counseled against violence. During the Civil War, he protested the United States's policy toward slaves in the border states: ex-Confederates, who took the oath of allegiance during the war, could actually return to Kentucky and keep their slaves. At Camp Nelson, Kentucky, he championed the rights of dependents of black Union soldiers, dependents who were grievously maltreated by an uncaring bureaucracy. His efforts were instrumental in gaining freedom for these dependents. After the war, he continued his struggle against prejudice and a rigorous caste system which perpetuated that bias. His work with Berea College will be long remembered. Howard's biography is thoroughly researched...