Book

Ball, Charles, 1781?-

Fifty years in chains / Charles Ball ; introduction to the Dover edition by Philip S. Foner.

Mineola, N.Y. : Dover Publications, 2003.

xx, 331 pages ; 22 cm

Charles Ball's simply stated verbal account of the shocking events in his life provides gripping details of Southern slavery before the Civil War. His recollections and observations encompass the manner in which he was treated by planters and slaveholders in Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia; the conditions and treatment of other slaves; the state of morals among cotton planters; and the perils and suffering of fugitive slaves. One of the earliest and most important slave narratives, this account provides a valuable primary source on early nineteenth-century Southern plantation life. An inspiring story of courage and perseverance, it is essential reading for students of American history and African-American studies.

Ball, Charles, 1781?-

Enslaved persons -- United States -- Biography.

African Americans -- Biography.

Slavery -- Maryland -- History.

Slavery -- South Carolina -- History.

Slavery -- Georgia -- History.

Autobiographies.

Foner, Philip Sheldon, 1910-1994, writer of introduction

Slavery in the United States

Originally published: New York : Dover Publications, 1970. Previously published: Slavery in the United States : a narrative of the life and adventures of Charles Ball, a black man, who lived forty years in Maryland, South Carolina and Georgia, as a slave. New York : J.S. Taylor, 1837.

Publisher description

2003046071

0486430960

9780486430966

51898948

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139908

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305.567 Ball