Loren Schweninger Libros

Exploring the complexities of divorce in the antebellum South, this book examines how societal views labeled it as madness and a sign of community decay, yet divorce rates continued to rise. Loren Schweninger utilizes previously untapped records to shed light on the challenges faced by divorcing families, providing insights into the realities of life in a slave-holding society. The narrative also highlights the struggles of white southern families who opted against divorce, offering a nuanced understanding of familial crises during this tumultuous period.

Dred Scott and his landmark Supreme Court case are ingrained in the national memory, but he was just one of multitudes who appealed for their freedom in courtrooms across the country. Appealing for Liberty is the most comprehensive study to give voice to these African Americans, drawing from more than 2,000 suits and from the testimony of more than 4,000 plaintiffs from the Revolutionary era to the Civil War. Through the petitions, evidence, and testimony introduced in these court proceedings, the lives of the enslaved come sharply and poignantly into focus, as do many other aspects of southern society such as the efforts to preserve and re-unite black families. This book depicts in graphic terms, the pain, suffering, fears, and trepidations of the plaintiffs while discussing the legal system lawyers, judges, juries, and testimony that made judgments on their "causes," as the suits were often called