Studies in the legal history of the South Fathers of conscience : mixed-race inheritance in the antebellum South
Type
Book
Authors
ISBN 10
0820332518
ISBN 13
9780820332512
DDC
342.7508
Category
American Law
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Publication Year
2009
Publisher
Pages
xiv, 197 pages
Subject
Slavery and Civil Rights
Tags
Series Name
Abstract
"Fathers of Conscience examines high-court decisions in the antebellum South that involved wills in which white male planters bequeathed property, freedom, or both to women of color and their mixed-race children. These men, whose wills were contested by their white relatives, had used trusts and estates law to give their slave partners and children official recognition and thus circumvent the law of slavery. The will contests that followed determined whether that elevated status would be approved or denied by courts of law.
Bernie D. Jones argues that these will contests indicated a struggle within the elite over race, gender, and class issues-over questions of social mores and who was truly family. Judges thus acted as umpires after a man's death, deciding whether to permit his attempts to provide for his slave partner and family. Her analysis of these differing judicial opinions on inheritance rights for slave partners makes an important contribution to the literature on the law of slavery in the United States." - Amazon
Bernie D. Jones argues that these will contests indicated a struggle within the elite over race, gender, and class issues-over questions of social mores and who was truly family. Judges thus acted as umpires after a man's death, deciding whether to permit his attempts to provide for his slave partner and family. Her analysis of these differing judicial opinions on inheritance rights for slave partners makes an important contribution to the literature on the law of slavery in the United States." - Amazon
Description
Content:
Righteous fathers, vulnerable old men, and degraded creatures -- Slavery, freedom, and the rule of law -- Justice and mercy in the Kentucky Court of Appeals -- Circling the wagons and clamping down : the Mississippi High Court of Errors and Appeals -- The people of Barnwell against the Supreme Court of South Carolina : the case of Elijah Willis.
Righteous fathers, vulnerable old men, and degraded creatures -- Slavery, freedom, and the rule of law -- Justice and mercy in the Kentucky Court of Appeals -- Circling the wagons and clamping down : the Mississippi High Court of Errors and Appeals -- The people of Barnwell against the Supreme Court of South Carolina : the case of Elijah Willis.
Biblio Notes
Includes bibliographical references (pages 165-182) and index.
Number of Copies
1
