Navigating Liberty

"As thousands of African Americans freed themselves from slavery during the American Civil War, they launched the major social change of emancipation. Hundreds of northern antislavery reformers responded by working with them in the federally occupied South. The formerly enslaved Black refugees generally could bring little or no property to help them build a free life but could contribute labor and skills. They maintained pressure for new privileges. The relief workers, especially when organized by aid associations and serving under military personnel charged with supervising the freedom seekers, could draw upon more resources and exert some influence on programs.The two groups brought views and practices from their backgrounds, which could help or trouble the transition out of slavery. Enslaved Blacks had learned to act with independent-mindedness and wariness when dealing with whites. They resented the northerners' preconceptions and attempts to control the transition, especially the use of force. Some disgruntled formerly enslaved Blacks even evaded or opposed programs created for them. Conflicts occasionally led to program modifications but frequently moved Blacks to seek more autonomy. Still, working together did result in some accomplishments. In an exhaustive analysis of that interaction, John Cimprich shows how the unusual circumstances opened new possibilities, spawned social movements for change, generated challenges, and produced limited results. His work is the first comprehensive study of the two groups' collaboration and conflict, adding an essential chapter to the history of slavery's end in the United States. Cimprich suggests that federal policy affected much of that interaction but that individuals' attitudes also played a key role. While Blacks saw themselves as equal humans, only a minority of white reformers shared that view. Over time, most Black refugees came to appreciate the reformers' idealism and charity while maintaining a degree of distance because of reformers' critical views. In the end, both groups' ongoing efforts to gain formerly enslaved Blacks new privileges ultimately led to social change. Cimprich's study is sure to be of interest to historians of slavery and the Civil War"--