Synopses & Reviews
Were slaves property or human beings under the law? Antebellum Southern judges designed efficient laws that protected property rights and helped slavery remain economically viable, laws that sheltered the persons embodied by that propertySH-the slaves themselves. Unintentionally, these judges generated rules applicable to ordinary Americans. Wahl provides a rigorous, compelling economic analysis of the common law of Southern slavery, inspecting thousands of legal disputes.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-262) and index.
Table of Contents
1. American slavery and the path of the law; 2. The law of sales: slaves, animals, and commodities; 3. The law of hiring and employment: slaves, animals, and free persons; 4. The law regarding common carriers: slaves, animals, commodities, and free persons; 5. The law regarding governments, government officials, slave patrollers, and overseers: protecting private property versus keeping public peace; 6. The legal rights and responsibilities of strangers toward slaves, animals, and free persons; 7. Treatment of oneâs slaves, servants, animals, and relatives: legal boundaries and the problem of social cost; 8. The southâs law of slavery: reflecting the felt necessities of the time.