Reviews
"There is so much about [ To Live an Antislavery Life ] to recommend it. Historians of antislavery, class formation, culture, and politics will appreciate Ball's nuanced, sensitive and inventive readings of canonical African American texts, especially slave narratives."--Hilary Moss, Journal of American History, [Ball] delivers an insightful explication of what motivated the antebellum black middle class… Erica Ball has produced a strong, innovative, and valuable contribution to the historiography of black activism and the black middle class., "[Historian Erica L. Ball, associate professor of American studies, aims to do nothing less than prompt a rethinking of the relationship between the personal and the political among the northern black middle class in the years before the Civil War."- CSUF News, "Ball drives a stake into the heart of the tired argument that much of the aspiring black middle class in the antebellum North turned its collective back on the plight of its enslaved southern brethren in an inward-looking quest for uplift, respectability, and local political rights. Ball draws upon many of the same sources often cited in support of that argument-prescriptive conduct literature, domestic discourse, newspapers, convention debates, and cultural productions such as the Anglo-African Magazine . However, by placing these sources in conversation with slave narratives and interpreting them in fresh ways, she is able to demonstrate persuasively that, for free blacks, self-advancement could be a revolutionary, even subversive, act and the strong family unit could serve as the essential site for building race consciousness and fighting slavery."-Joanne Pope Melish, author of Disowning Slavery: Gradual Emancipation and "Race" in New England, 17801860, Emphasizing the fusion of the political with the personal, Ball usefully and persuasively shifts our perspectives on the character and purposes of antebellum African American writing… In sum, this attractively produced [ To Live an Antislavery Life ] makes a valuable contribution to the study of antebellum American history., "In this gem of a book, Erica L. Ball challenges scholars of antebellum northern black activism to think more deeply about the language of respectability so prominent in activists' discourse from the 1830s to the Civil War. . . . Ball not only provides a more complicated understanding of the politics of respectability in northern black middle-class discourse but also asserts that the foundation for their values was based in Christian republicanism."--Rita Roberts, Journal of Southern History, "[Historian] Erica L. Ball, associate professor of American studies, aims to do nothing less than prompt a rethinking of the relationship between the personal and the political among the northern black middle class in the years before the Civil War."- CSUF News, Ball's well-written book makes a good case for the impact of individual lives 'lived well' on the elimination of slavery and racism. It should have broad appeal among audiences interested in nineteenth-century African American history and cultural studies., Ball drives a stake into the heart of the tired argument that much of the aspiring black middle class in the antebellum North turned its collective back on the plight of its enslaved southern brethren in an inward-looking quest for uplift, respectability, and local political rights. Ball draws upon many of the same sources often cited in support of that argument-prescriptive conduct literature, domestic discourse, newspapers, convention debates, and cultural productions such as the Anglo-African Magazine . However, by placing these sources in conversation with slave narratives and interpreting them in fresh ways, she is able to demonstrate persuasively that, for free blacks, self-advancement could be a revolutionary, even subversive, act and the strong family unit could serve as the essential site for building race consciousness and fighting slavery., Ball drives a stake into the heart of the tired argument that much of the aspiring black middle class in the antebellum North turned its collective back on the plight of its enslaved southern brethren in an inward-looking quest for uplift, respectability, and local political rights. Ball draws upon many of the same sources often cited in support of that argument--prescriptive conduct literature, domestic discourse, newspapers, convention debates, and cultural productions such as the Anglo-African Magazine . However, by placing these sources in conversation with slave narratives and interpreting them in fresh ways, she is able to demonstrate persuasively that, for free blacks, self-advancement could be a revolutionary, even subversive, act and the strong family unit could serve as the essential site for building race consciousness and fighting slavery. Ball's well-written book makes a good case for the impact of individual lives 'lived well' on the elimination of slavery and racism. It should have broad appeal among audiences interested in nineteenth-century African American history and cultural studies. [Historian] Erica L. Ball, associate professor of American studies, aims to do nothing less than prompt a rethinking of the relationship between the personal and the political among the northern black middle class in the years before the Civil War. This thoughtful, eloquent [ To Live an Antislavery Life ] shows how 'elite and aspiring' African Americans vested their everyday conduct and values with radical potential. . . . its compactness and clarity make it an attractive option for classroom use, and Ball displays an impressive analytical range within five concise chapters. . . . Most significantly, scholars of nineteenth-century class formation and African American history will profit from Ball's incisive work at the intersection of those two rich fields. Emphasizing the fusion of the political with the personal, Ball usefully and persuasively shifts our perspectives on the character and purposes of antebellum African American writing... In sum, this attractively produced [ To Live an Antislavery Life ] makes a valuable contribution to the study of antebellum American history. [Ball] delivers an insightful explication of what motivated the antebellum black middle class... Erica Ball has produced a strong, innovative, and valuable contribution to the historiography of black activism and the black middle class., "Ball's well-written book makes a good case for the impact of individual lives 'lived well' on the elimination of slavery and racism. It should have broad appeal among audiences interested in nineteenth-century African American history and cultural studies."-Julie Winch, author of The Clamorgans: One Family's History of Race in America, "There is much about this volume to recommend it. Historians of antislavery, class formation, culture, and politics will appreciate Ball's nuanced, sensitive, and inventive readings of canonical African American texts, especially slave narratives. Yet Ball also unearths and explores less familiar corners of black print culture. Her discussion of prescriptive conduct literature is particularly good at fleshing out how middle-class ideas about marriage, family, and courtship rituals become infused with antislavery politics. . . . To Live an Antislavery Life shows that to split African American protest thought into dichotomies such as conservative and radical, or militant and bourgeois, is to miss the nuanced, imaginative, and adaptive character of antebellum black writers." --Hilary Moss, The Journal of American History, "Emphasizing the fusion of the political with the personal, Ball usefully and persuasively shifts our perspectives on the character and purposes of antebellum African American writing... In sum, this attractively produced [ To Live an Antislavery Life ] makes a valuable contribution to the study of antebellum American history."--Dickson D. Bruce, Jr., American Historical Review, [Historian] Erica L. Ball, associate professor of American studies, aims to do nothing less than prompt a rethinking of the relationship between the personal and the political among the northern black middle class in the years before the Civil War., "Ball drives a stake into the heart of the tired argument that much of the aspiring black middle class in the antebellum North turned its collective back on the plight of its enslaved southern brethren in an inward-looking quest for uplift, respectability, and local political rights. Ball draws upon many of the same sources often cited in support of that argument--prescriptive conduct literature, domestic discourse, newspapers, convention debates, and cultural productions such as the Anglo-African Magazine . However, by placing these sources in conversation with slave narratives and interpreting them in fresh ways, she is able to demonstrate persuasively that, for free blacks, self-advancement could be a revolutionary, even subversive, act and the strong family unit could serve as the essential site for building race consciousness and fighting slavery."--Joanne Pope Melish, author of Disowning Slavery: Gradual Emancipation and "Race" in New England, 1780-1860, "[Historian] Erica L. Ball, associate professor of American studies, aims to do nothing less than prompt a rethinking of the relationship between the personal and the political among the northern black middle class in the years before the Civil War."-- CSUF News, "Ball's well-written book makes a good case for the impact of individual lives 'lived well' on the elimination of slavery and racism. It should have broad appeal among audiences interested in nineteenth-century African American history and cultural studies."--Julie Winch, author of The Clamorgans: One Family's History of Race in America, This thoughtful, eloquent [ To Live an Antislavery Life ] shows how 'elite and aspiring' African Americans vested their everyday conduct and values with radical potential. . . . its compactness and clarity make it an attractive option for classroom use, and Ball displays an impressive analytical range within five concise chapters. . . . Most significantly, scholars of nineteenth-century class formation and African American history will profit from Ball's incisive work at the intersection of those two rich fields., "[Ball] delivers an insightful explication of what motivated the antebellum black middle class... Erica Ball has produced a strong, innovative, and valuable contribution to the historiography of black activism and the black middle class."--Scott Hancock, Journal of the Early Republic, "[Historian Erica L. Ball, associate professor of American studies, aims to do nothing less than prompt a rethinking of the relationship between the personal and the political among the northern black middle class in the years before the Civil War."-- CSUF News, "This thoughtful, eloquent [ To Live an Antislavery Life ] shows how 'elite and aspiring' African Americans vested their everyday conduct and values with radical potential. . . . its compactness and clarity make it an attractive option for classroom use, and Ball displays an impressive analytical range within five concise chapters. . . . Most significantly, scholars of nineteenth-century class formation and African American history will profit from Ball's incisive work at the intersection of those two rich fields."--Margot Minardi, New England Quarterly, "This thoughtful, eloquent [ To Live an Antislavery Life shows how 'elite and aspiring' African Americans vested their everyday conduct and values with radical potential. . . . its compactness and clarity make it an attractive option for classroom use, and Ball displays an impressive analytical range within five concise chapters. . . . Most significantly, scholars of nineteenth-century class formation and African American history will profit from Ball's incisive work at the intersection of those two rich fields."--Margot Minardi, New England Quarterly
