Format:
xxii, 269 Seiten
,
Illustrationen, Karten
,
25 cm
ISBN:
9781469675237
Content:
"Award-winning historian Amrita Chakrabarti Myers has recovered the riveting, troubling, and complicated story of Julia Ann Chinn (ca. 1796-1833), the enslaved mixed-race wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, owner of Blue Spring Farm, veteran of the War of 1812, and US vice president under Martin Van Buren. Johnson never freed Chinn, but during his frequent absences from his estate, he delegated to her management of his property, including Choctaw Academy, a boarding school for Indigenous men and boys. This meant that Chinn, while enslaved, had substantial control over economic, social, financial, and personal affairs within the couple's world, including overseeing Blue Spring's enslaved labor force. Chinn's relationship with Johnson was unlikely a consensual one since she was never manumitted. What makes Chinn's life exceptional is the power that Johnson invested in her, the opportunities the couple's relationship afforded her and her daughters, and their community's tacit acceptance of the family-up to a point. When the family left their farm, they faced steep limits: pews at the rear of church, burial in separate graveyards, exclusion from town dances, and more. Outliving Chinn, Johnson was ruined politically by his relationship with her, and Myers compellingly demonstrates that it wasn't interracial sex that led to his downfall but his refusal to keep it-and Julia Chinn-behind closed doors"--
Note:
"A Ferris and Ferris book"
,
Includes bibliographical references and index
,
‡g Preface : ‡t Searching for Julia: July 28, 2015 -- ‡g Introduction : ‡t Telling stories -- ‡g Chapter 1 : ‡t Beginnings: Bluegrass and Black salves -- ‡g Chapter 2 : ‡t Mistress of the parlor: The Black woman of Blue Spring -- ‡g Chapter 3 : ‡t Campus conflicts: Racial collisions at Choctaw Academy -- ‡g Chapter 4 : ‡t Disorderly communion: The Johnsons go to church -- ‡g Chapter 5 : ‡t Town talk: Locals draw the line -- ‡g Chapter 6 : ‡t Affairs of state: The Nation speaks of sex -- ‡g Chapter 7 : ‡t End of days: Privilege, property, and passing(s) -- ‡g Epilogue : ‡t Past meets present: History and memory -- ‡g Postscript : ‡t The search for Julia, redux
Additional Edition:
Erscheint auch als Online-Ausgabe ISBN 978-1-4696-7524-4
Language:
English
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