Westport, Conn. 1988 . 882 pages LC 87-37543. Laboring over the past half decade, they have brought together nearly 300 individual articles covering the period from the first English settlement in America to Reconstruction after the Civil War. Each article includes a selected bibliography to lead readers to further scholarship on a given topic. The topics selected were chosen for their importance both to specialists and to general readers, and the articles were produced by contributors recognized for their special expertise in these assigned topics.
Emphasis is placed on the social, institutional, intellectual, and political aspects of slavery.
There are entries covering broad subjects as well as selected biographies of well-known persons involved in slavery. . . . The focus is on slavery in the U.S. from the time of the first English settlements until Reconstruction. . . . The essays, which range from a few paragraphs to over five pages, are arranged alphabetically. Each is signed by one of the over 200 contributors, primarily college professors, who are listed in an appendix with their affiliations. The essays treat both broad subjects, such as the slave trade, abolition, and education, as well as more focussed topics like the underground railroad, slavery in specific cities or states and biographies.