The Peculiar Institution: Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South

The Peculiar Institution: Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South. New York: Vintage Books, 1989.

Slavery is perhaps the most polarizing subject of American history. Because of this, actual conditions of slavery are biased and marred by personal opinion. The abolitionists made use of the plights of slave in order to push their propaganda whereas the pro-slavery apologists maintained ignorance regarding the treatment of slaves. Because of these varied perspectives, the sources regarding the true nature of slavery are littered with bias. This bias leaves the modern historian trying to decipher the truth behind manipulated propaganda tales. This was the norm until 1956. It was this year in which Kenneth M. Stampp released his book entitled, The Peculiar Institution: Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South. Stampp successfully managed to create a book regarding slavery in the South without inserting his own personal bias. Because of this, Stampp was able to conclude that slavery was used primarily to exploit labor and to produce substantial revenue gains.

Prior to his death in 2009, Kenneth M. Stampp was one of the foremost historians regarding 19th century America which included several books regarding the American Civil War, the Reconstruction period, and slavery. Stampp was born July 12, 1912 in Milwaukee to German parents and was formally educated at the University of Wisconsin where he received his Bachelor of Science degree, Master of Arts degree, and Doctorate degree. After brief teaching stints at the Universities of Maryland and Arkansas, Stampp found himself a permanent position at the University of California at Berkeley from 1946 until his retirement in 1983. During his tenure, he published Indiana Politics during the Civil War, ...

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...gro Slavery tried to influence the reader all too much. Instead, Stampp preferred to let the statistics and anecdotes tell the tale which allowed both scholars and non-scholars to draw their own conclusions based upon the evidence presented. Because of this, The Peculiar Institution is an invaluable source of information regarding both the institute of slavery as well as southern culture during the ante-bellum period. Personal anecdotes as well as impersonal plantation records solidify this work as an important piece of research that seeks to present the realities of slavery to a modern audience. This impersonal presentation provides a more scholarly approach to a long sensitive topic of debate in the United States. It serves as a reminder to the modern generation of the horrors of slavery and seeks to debase the romantic notion of the paternalistic slave holder.