Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery

In 1988 Greenwood Press published the Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery to wide acclaim by the library community and scholars in the field. The Dictionary was issued at a time when the study of slavery commanded a central place in American historical thinking and, increasingly, in a host of other disciplines as well. Interest in slavery has not abated. Yet, despite a growing sophistication in methodology and complexity of analysis, the basic contours of the study of slavery remain much the same as when the Dictionary first appeared. To take the latest scholarship into account, the editors have added a new introduction surveying the principal themes in research and writing over the past decade and have appended a bibliography, arranged by broad thematic areas keyed to topics treated in the text.

In 1988 Greenwood Press published the Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery to wide acclaim by the library community and scholars in the field. It was selected as a Best Reference Book by Library Journal, a Choice Outstanding Academic Book, and an American Library Association Outstanding Reference Book. Historian John Hope Franklin declared it an indispensable tool for all students of human bondage, while the Journal of the Early Republic announced it has something for everyone interested in Afro-American slavery, from the general reader to undergraduate student to professional historian.

The Dictionary appeared at a time when the study of slavery commanded a central place in American historical thinking and, increasingly, in a host of other disciplines as well. Interest in slavery has not abated. Yet, despite a growing sophistication in methodology and complexity of analysis, the basic contours of the study remain much the same as when the Dictionary was first issued. To take the latest scholarship into account, the editors have appended a bibliography, arranged by broad thematic areas keyed to topics treated in the text. The bibliography, augmented by the historiographical review of the scholarship of the last decade, makes the Dictionary an invaluable guide for students and scholars alike.