Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American Memory
The Hortons, history professors and authors of several books on slavery, offer a fascinating collection of essays on the difficulties historians have faced in examining, recording, and reconciling American slavery in the context of a nation founded on principles of liberty and individual rights. Contributors examine the moral paradox of slaveholding Founding Fathers and more recent controversies concerning issues from reparations to DNA testing to confirm Thomas Jefferson's relationship with his slave Sally Hemings. Other historians analyze how the South and the National Park Service address slavery in public museums and historical sites that retell the history of the Civil War. Among the contributors are David W. Blight, Gary B. Nash, and Ira Berlin, who refers to slavery as "ground zero of race relations" and examines the need to justify slavery in a free nation, forming the basis for unequal race relations to this day. An enlightening look at how slavery is documented and presented in the nation's collective memory.Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.