Date of Graduation

12-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

History

Advisor/Mentor

Whayne, Jeannie M.

Committee Member

Sutherland, Daniel E.

Second Committee Member

Sloan, Kathryn A.

Third Committee Member

Williams, Patrick G.

Keywords

African-American History; Arkansas; Slavery

Abstract

Slavery grew quickly on the western edge of the South. By 1860, more than one quarter of Arkansas's population was enslaved. While whites succeeded remarkably in transplanting the institution of slavery to the trans-Mississippi South, bondspeople used the land around them to achieve their own goals. Slaves capitalized on the abundance of uncultivated space, such as forest and canebrake, to temporarily escape the demanding crop routine, hold secret parties and religious meetings, meet friends, or run away for good. The Civil War created upheaval that undermined the slave regime but also required those African-Americans still in bondage to carefully navigate their use of the woods and "wild" spaces.

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