Money over Mastery, Family over Freedom: Slavery in the Antebellum Upper South

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments T his book benefited from an exceptional network. edward l. ayers supervised the dissertation from which it developed, emphasizing broad interconnections and the deep roots of historical causation . though i grew up in a southern place with a slave past, it was not until his colloquium on the nineteenth-century South at the university of Virginia that i learned that the South has an important and distinctive history that transcends region, nation, and hemisphere. his guidance gave vague ideas conceptual coherence and gave wings to my historical imagination. Joseph c. miller challenged me to examine closely the incremental changes, working misunderstandings, and human strategies—and tragedies—that characterize modern african and atlantic history. his prompting me to ask questions of american history formulated by africanists is largely responsible for the book’s perspective. peter S. onuf guided my understanding of the political economy and intellectual history of british north america and the early united States, always with an eye toward the complex interplay of interests, inheritances, and ideas. at the national museum of american history, where a predoctoral fellowship provided the support to launch this project, pete daniel and fath davis ruffins offered me pivotal guidance at early stages by encouraging sustained treatment of the conditions under which the enslaved worked and to rethink conventional categories of african american history. this book benefits from two informal mentors as well. Susan e. o’donovan’s consistently insightful suggestions helped to bring critical parts of united States slavery into clear focus. William W. freehling’s encouragement to explore narratives in history and think more critically about causation textures the way i frame historical issues. cathy matson and edward e. baptist were outstanding guides in the process of making a dissertation into a book and helped to refine and develop important themes. both read the manuscript for the press and offered invaluable criticism and advice, and together with bob brugger they were criti- 216 Acknowledgments cal in cutting the weight while increasing the analytical heft of this project. m. J. devaney gave the final draft a thorough reading and, in addition to making invaluable suggestions regarding meaning and emphasis, saved me from many embarrassing mistakes. the remaining errors are solely my responsibility . at professional conferences, James f. brooks, James bryant, david J. coles, melvin patrick ely, Steve deyle, Wayne K. durrill, rebecca fraser, richard follett , ben marsh, aaron W. marrs, James david miller, Josh rothman, John Stauffer, michael tadman, brent tarter, William G. thomas iii, and peter Wallenstein kindly gave their time and support. ben Schiller has been a great interlocutor and intellectual provocateur. other scholars who helped this project along through their kind and helpful correspondence include michael chesson, Walter Johnson, philip J. Schwarz, leni Sorensen, and loren Schweninger. bonnie martin read and offered feedback on drafts of early chapters, and phil troutman has been a true guide through trials of writing and presenting this work, generously sharing much of his own research materials in the process. i owe many debts to those without whose help and support at the university of Virginia this project would not have been as feasible—or fun. i would like to thank cindy aron, Grace hale, michael holt, heather Warren, charles mccurdy, olivier Zunz, Gary W. Gallagher, brian balogh, Joseph f. Kett, and patrick Griffin and fellow students cheryl collins, christa dierksheide, martin ohman, George Van cleve, billy Wayson, brian murphy, erik alexander, david bridges, lisa Goff, bob Jackson, Sarah maxwell, Vanessa may, Jaime martinez, amanda mushal, Scott nesbit, cynthia nicoletti, Victoria meyer, Sarah Silkey, andrew torget, and andrew Witmer. i owe dylan c. penningroth a special debt for his forbearance in supervising my first attempt at graduate work in history and for critical guidance on aspects of this project. at arizona State university, i would like to thank all those who have made tempe a wonderful place to teach, think, research, and write. networks involve a complex interplay between human and material resources . this book was no exception. in addition to a Smithsonian institution predoctoral fellowship, this research was made possible by financial support from the Gilder lehrman institute of american history, the fletcher Jones foundation at the huntington library, and the Joel Williamson Visiting Scholar program at the Southern historical collection, university of north carolina, chapel hill. i have also received support from the Virginia histori- Acknowledgments 217 cal Society’s mellon fellows program, a John hope franklin research Grant from...