Them Dark Days: Slavery in the American Rice Swamps

In this controversial, groundbreaking, and eloquently written book, William Dusinberre examines slavery in the rice swamps of the South Carolina and Georgia "low country". The antebellum rice kingdom's large plantations carried a political and social weight seldom recognized in later years. Focusing on three plantations and incorporating overseers' letters, slave testimonies, and numerous plantation sources, Dusinberre presents portraits of such fascinating individuals as the defiant slave carpenter Jack Savage and his master Charles Manigault, who exemplify the harsh realities of slavery. Them Dark Days offers a vivid reconstruction of slavery in action. Setting recent analyses of slave culture within a wider context of health, discipline, privilege, and psychology, the book casts a sharp new light on slave history.