An Empire for Slavery by Campbell - Essay Example

An Empire for Slavery Overview According to Randolph B. Campbell, “there has never been a general study of slavery in Texas” (4), and this book serves as filler to that gap in historical literature. “The Peculiar Institution influenced and shaped virtually every aspect of life in the Lone Star state” (Campbell p.209) and the author demonstrates that slavery was a significant element in the history of Texas, in contrast to the “widespread popular misconception” (Campbell p.1). The book makes a compelling and obvious exploration of this theme. First, Campbell provides a chronological narrative of the development and escalation of slavery from the colonial period in Texas up to the Civil War outbreak. In the first three chapters of the book, he discusses how the American settlers viewed slavery as a “practical necessity” (p.33) despite the opposition of the Mexican authorities. In these chapters, Campbell shows how slaves arrived in Texas, whose population increased from around 5,000 to over 160,000, thereby composing over 30 percent of the region’s population by 1860. In the other parts of the book, Campbell provides a survey examining the standpoints of the slave owners, and the economic conditions, life, and culture of the slaves. Through this, Campbell demonstrates his grasp and understanding of a wide array of sources, and utilizes 181 slave narratives from the Federal Writers Project interviews, which he uses in a quantitative analysis. There are several extensive studies on the thirteen out of the fifteen states that allowed slavery during that era. Texas is one of the two states that lack relevant research on this topic. Campbell sees this issue and decides to resolve it by producing this empirical work that uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods to that explains five fundamental topics: 1) the development and escalation of slavery; 2) the psychological and physical conditions of slavery; 3) impact of slavery to slave owners either individually or collectively; 4) legal and economic functions of slavery; and, 5) effect of Civil War to slavery. Campbell presents a few statements regarding the uniqueness of the conditions of slavery in Texas. For one, since Texas was originally within Mexico’s jurisdiction, and since Mexico is opposed to slavery, this situation created a group of black people who were considered bondsmen for a year less than a century. These blacks were neither slaves nor free people. Similarly, freed slaves who remained in Texas were viewed as neither citizens nor property. However, chapter 4 of the book suggests that the slavery economics in Texas is similar to those in the other southern states. Campbell explores this concept as well in other chapters as he tackles the slaves’ work conditions in chapter 6, and treatment and material situation in chapter 7. This book leans toward portraying that despite a few distinctions, the conditions of slavery in Texas do not differ from the other states, making it a good source of information about history, but not too much on slavery. Evaluation of Sources The book showcases 15 tables, 9 maps, and 4 appendices that provide vital data mostly on the geographic growth and economic nature of slavery. It also contains a massive bibliography regarding slavery in Texas. It is striking how the author utilizes a wide array of sources to complete the book. He uses the qualitative research method to present sources gathered from court and plantation records, contemporary newspapers, census, diaries, and letters. These sources provide insights on the concepts of protecting the society from slaves and protecting the slavery institution. He also uses the quantitative research approach to present sources gathered from narratives of former slaves, probate inventories, tax records, and government consensus. The narratives consist of 181 stories told by former slaves that depicts their feelings and views on the “peculiar institution.” He took the common data among the narratives and turned them into numbers for a quantitative analysis. For example, of the 181 narratives of former slaves, a small percentage, about 5, commented that food supply was inadequate, while more than half, around 58 percent commented on having adequate and good-quality food. Yet, the book could have made a more careful analysis of the results particularly of the quantitative research. 181 narratives of former slaves cannot really be considered an adequate representation of all the slaves in the antebellum era. Additionally, the narratives are from the 1930s, which makes the sources of these narratives very young in 1860. Still, one cannot say that this research is ineffective or unimportant. However, a strong statement saying “Texas slaves generally had a diet that was adequate to provide the energy to work..” (p.137) just because more than half of the stories from these former, apparently very young, slaves show satisfaction in food supply appears to be a not so cautious interpretation of the data. Analytical Discourse The book is much more than an exploration of the events of slavery, for Campbell argues here that the “clash of Anglo-American and Hispanic cultural traditions that culminated in the Texas Revolution” (p.252) is due to slavery. Along with these, he also presents a lengthy investigative research on controversial topics like the prominent social, political, and economical status of the slave owners during that period. Furthermore, he discussed the emotional and mental stresses caused by bondage, the civil liberties and constitutional rights of bondsmen, the conditions of labor on plantations and farms, the slave-code system, and the western plains as hindrance to further spread out. Due to all these vital information, despite the issues posed by the analysis of the quantitative research, the book is a source of vast historical information for those who want to understand and are interested in the “peculiar institution” and antebellum Texas. With the clarity, structure, and documentation of the facts and arguments presented, “An Empire for Slavery” is a major contribution toward a better perception and appreciation of the history of Texas. Also, the author’s major conclusions are similar to the conclusions of other slavery researchers and scholars. Slavery in Texas resulted in a thriving agricultural economy that is highly lucrative for the slave owners. Mostly neither sambos nor rebels, slaves then “endure on the best terms possible consistent with their own dignity and self-respect” (p.177). Additionally, the slave owners did not display uncertainty nor guilt in considering these humans as properties, and they were dedicated to the “peculiar institution”. Furthermore, the political atmosphere in Texas was highly dominated by the concept of slavery, just like how it was in the other states that permitted this kind of social order. However, on a personal note, the author seems to be all for proving that slavery in Texas is similar to other Southern states. In the entirety of the book, he mentions only two solid distinctions of the slavery in Texas: “had no laws intended to prevent slave literacy (p.175)” and “the Peculiar Institution remained less disturbed in Texas than in any other Confederate state (p. 231).” Because of this, the author declares that “"Slavery in Texas did not differ in any fundamental way from the institution as it existed elsewhere in the United States” (p. 257). Although this conclusion presents a comforting insight that is in harmony with other accepted notions of historians about slavery’s nature, it still raises a perplexing issue. Recent studies show that slavery is an institution that is factored by several different conditions --- for instance, the geographic location --- that shape its distinction. For example, slavery in a low country South Carolina rice farm or a Mississippi cotton plantation most probably have very distinct features compared to slavery in a Virginia tobacco estate. This is a very probable and logical argument that poses the question then regarding the similarity of the conditions of slavery across the Southern region. A conclusion that generalizes slavery in Texas as similar to the general concept of slavery elsewhere decreases the book’s value in terms of the study of slavery. This is tantamount to saying that there is nothing new about slavery that can be learned anymore, and that it is just now worth looking into because it is a large part of the history. For this reason, it can be said that the book, yes, is a source of useful information, not on slavery per se, but on its role in the history of Texas. Conclusion One could hope that the author could have been less reserved and curt in writing the book. But in all fairness, one should keep in mind that the book is the first ever published in-depth research on the slavery in Texas. This alone understandably calls for Campbell to utilize a basic method, instead of a more complex one that is normally needed in such studies. He says the he goes “to describe and interpret the Peculiar Institution in Texas without the aid of any particular theoretical model” (p. 9). Therefore, the book resolves the issue of the lack of study about slavery in Texas, but it does not present new insights about slavery and new theories that can be used for the investigation and evaluation of the previous ideas presented by the other scholars of slavery. Works Cited Campbell, Randolph B. An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas, 1821 - 1865. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Press, 2001. Print. Read More