Steven Deyle. Carry Me Back: The Domestic Slave Trade in American Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
What is the book's thesis?
The book’s main thesis is the Slave Trade in American life and its impact. The book takes as through the slave trade in America from 18th century and its impact on various families, the U.S economy among others. For instance, one of the effects of slave trade is that it led to buying and selling of human beings which in turn led to increased human trafficking. Slave trade also led to the separation of family members.
How does the author organize material?
It is prudent to note that Deyle is not logical neither is he systematic in his organization of his material. He heavily relies on thematic approach to organize his materials. For instance, he is first concerned with something which he calls “the irony of liberty”. This is where he explores the genesis of the domestic trade in the United States of America.
In the first four chapters, the author examines the interregional trade. He argues that approximately 875,000 slaves must have been transferred from upper to lower south between 1820 and 1860. He adopts his assertion from the Tadman’s figures. He claims that approximately 70% of the transferred slaves were taken to the Gulf South by some professional traders who wanted to make profit out of them. The author argues that the states such as Virginia and Maryland in the United States was able to thrive economically simply because of the slave trade.
He went ahead and argues in page 157 that out of the two million slaves sold in America, the majority of them sold between 1820-1860 were sold to the local buyers. This shows discrepancies in figures which the author is giving out. For instance, if two thirds of the 2million slaves had been sold locally, then it implies that approximately 668,000 were sold in the interregional trade. This is very different with the figures that the author has given in the early chapters of this book. For instance, the author had stated that approximately 70% of 875,000 slaves transported were sold locally. This shows that the author is not logical and accurate in the figures he is giving in this book.
In chapter six and seven, the author examines the perception of the trade both locally and outside the slave south. For instance, the abolitionists viewed it as being the most vulnerable crack in the shield of the defenders of the slave trade.
The subfield of history to which this book belongs to is The World History. The World History deals with the study the history of multiple cultures and nations. It also deals with the study of different past historical events such as the slave trade across the world. This book can be classified into the subfield of history known as the World History because it mainly employs the use of thematic approach.
Question 5
It is prudent to note that this book is a product of remarkable research. The author has made use of primary materials in such as archives, libraries, special collections books related to history of slave trade among others. The author also uses secondary materials such as newspapers in his attempt to develop this book. It is prudent to note that the author is also conversant with some of the available relevant literatures related to his topic of the book. This made him develop an admirable book which creatively advances individuals understanding of the interstate slave trade as well as its meaning for America.
Question 6
This book fundamentally gives a detailed history of domestic slave trade as it took place in the United States of America from early 18th century. The book provides a coherent analysis of the domestic slave trade in America. It also examines some of the effects associated with the domestic slave trade. For instance, according to Deyle, slave trade enhanced economies of various states in America such as the Maryland. The author states that the selling and buying of human beings led to tremendous growth of the Maryland state. Other effects of slave trade that are clear from the book include: separation of family members, increased human trafficking among others. The book also examines some of the reasons for the domestic slave trade in United States of America.
Therefore, owing to the fact that the subject of the course is history of domestic slave trade, there is no doubt that this book squarely fits into the subject matter of the course. This is because the book look at the issues related to domestic slave trade in the United States of America. The book also examines some of the factors that trigger domestic slave trade in the United States of America. The book also examines the impacts of slave trade in the United States of America.
Question 7
Before looking at how well the author’s purpose has been accomplished, it is important to re-examine the purposes for which this book was written. The purpose for which this book was written include: Deyle was also interested in revealing some of the negative effects that were associated with the Domestic Slave Trade in the eighteenth century. For instance, domestic buying and selling of human beings following the abolition of the international slave trade in the year 1808. The book was also meant to bring to light some of the prominent people who engaged in slave trade during that time. The book also aimed at revealing the realities associated with the chattel slavery. For instance, the author reveals how the chattel slavery affected shaped U.S.A and how it is still affecting it. Deyle wrote the book in order to examine the political forces that contributed to the abolitionist movement in the north of U.S.A and also the slave’s actions that challenged the domestic slave trade. Therefore, because all of the purposes outlined above have been fully accomplished in this book, it is therefore in order to recommend the author for his good job because he has fully accomplished his purposes for writing the book.
Despite the fact that most historians that have published materials concerning the slave trade do typically focus on the professional slave traders, Deyle is an exceptional one. He shows that many people were instrumental in the human slave trade. For instance, he estimates that more than two thirds of the slaves sold between 1820-1860 involved individual local transactions in which slaves were sold from one individual to another as opposed to interstate slave trade.
Though Deyle developed a remarkable and outstanding work, there are certain problems or errors that have been seen in his work. For instance, there is high repetition rate in the early chapters of this book. Another problem that has been seen in this book is the author’s tendency to exaggerate the significance of the domestic slave trade. For instance Deyle’s attribution of the high value of slave property to the domestic trade is questionable. It is not also true that the slave prices could determined or follow the price of cotton cannot be true because there is no relationship between the prices of slave with that of cotton.
Conclusion
The book has examined the domestic slave trade from the early 18th century. The book has outlined some of the impacts of slave trade both to various families and economy of certain U.S states.
