Historians have had much to say about the slave family of the nineteenth century South; it has been the focus of a lively debate for nearly three decades, much of it over the relative stability or instability of the black family under slavery and the degree to which it was matrifocal. They have not, however, utilized to a large degree in reference to the United States slave community and its household and family development the kinds of analytical procedures popularized by the Cambridge Group in England and employed internationally by demographic historians This dissertation presents a study of household composition among rural slaves of Louisiana. The first chapter approximates slave organizational structure through the construction of a model to which other slave populations can be contrasted. This model is based on a sample of 155 slave communities form 1810-1865, representing 10,329 slaves residing in major slaveholding parishes. The records, generally inventories, were gathered from archives, parish records, and private collections. The primary criterion in the selection of communities for the sample was that a firm indication of family and household divisions was provided. The lists were transcribed, computerized, and analyzed according to standard definitions of family household types and the various subcategories within those types. The results of the experiment were further described according to variations existing among the sampled communities according to time, place, and size The major objective of this study was to determine the structure of a large number of Louisianans in bondage, but statistical analysis alone could not provide information on the dynamics of change within these communities except in broad outline. Only an intensive study of several slave communities over time could assess the developmental patterns which are inevitably reflected in domestic arrangements. The latter section of the dissertation is composed of three in-depth case studies of Louisiana slave communities and analyzes how their household structures developed and changed according to internal and external factors. The conclusion summarizes the findings emanating from the larger statistical study and the case studies / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_25354 |
| Date | January 1985 |
| Contributors | Malone, Ann Patton (Author) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
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