The Cotton Kingdom; a traveller's observations on cotton and slavery in the American slave States. Based upon three former volumes of journeys and investigations by the same author (original 1861; edition 1953)

by Frederick Law Olmsted

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Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is best known for designing parks in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Chicago, Boston, and the grounds of the Capitol in Washington. But before he embarked upon his career as the nation's foremost landscape architect, he was a correspondent for theNew York Times, and it was under its auspices that he journeyed through the slave states in the 1850s. His day-by-day observations--including intimate accounts of the daily lives of masters and slaves, the operation of the plantation system, and the pernicious effects of slavery on all classes of society, black and white--were largely collected in The Cotton Kingdom. Published in 1861, just as the Southern states were storming out of the Union, it has been hailed ever since as singularly fair and authentic, an unparalleled account of America's "peculiar institution."… (more)

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Member:	stdaniel
Title:	The Cotton Kingdom; a traveller's observations on cotton and slavery in the American slave States. Based upon three former volumes of journeys and investigations by the same author
Authors:	Frederick Law Olmsted
Info:	New York, Knopf, 1953.
Collections:	Your library
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Tags:	Civil Rights

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The Cotton Kingdom by Frederick Law Olmsted (1861)

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Recently added by	JimKowalski, Baughns, SCDNR-HTP, 94thelongway, AWULS, bohemiangirlpdx, MWise, Jossynda, bluestickies, varielle
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This is a two-volume history of the United States South during the period of slavery when cotton was king. It was his belief that the cotton plantations could be worked just as effectively with hired laborers and he offers many arguments to support this hypothesis. His facts come from personal observation and from government and commercial sources. Olmsted shows that the slave owners spent most of their time managing and controlling their workers who had no inclination to perform their tasks because of their virtual imprisonment. A man who is free and paid a salary could be expected to work harder to keep his job, especially if there is also the prospect of advancement and a greater share in the profits.

TrysB | Sep 17, 2012 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Frederick Law Olmsted	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Olmsted, Frederick Law	Author	main author	all editions	confirmed

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1861

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Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is best known for designing parks in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Chicago, Boston, and the grounds of the Capitol in Washington. But before he embarked upon his career as the nation's foremost landscape architect, he was a correspondent for theNew York Times, and it was under its auspices that he journeyed through the slave states in the 1850s. His day-by-day observations--including intimate accounts of the daily lives of masters and slaves, the operation of the plantation system, and the pernicious effects of slavery on all classes of society, black and white--were largely collected in The Cotton Kingdom. Published in 1861, just as the Southern states were storming out of the Union, it has been hailed ever since as singularly fair and authentic, an unparalleled account of America's "peculiar institution."

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Editor's Introduction — Introductory. The Present Crisis — Washington — Virginia — The Economy of Virginia — The Carolinas — The Rice District — Alabama — The Lower Mississippi — Cotton-planters. Red River — South-western Louisiana and Eastern Texas — A Trip into Northern Mississippi — The Interior Cotton Districts. Central Mississippi, Alabama, etc. —The Exceptional Large Planters — Slavery in Its Property Aspect. Moral and Religious Instruction of the Slaves, etc. — Slavery as a Poor-law System — Cotton Supply and White Labour in the Cotton Climate — The Condition and Character of the Privileged Classes of the South — The Danger of the South — The Condition of Virginia - Statistics — The Slave Trade in Virginia — Cost of Labour in the Border States — Statistics of the Georgia Seaboard — Olmsted on the Northern and Southern Characters — General Bibliography — Index

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