Reconstructing black lives in the Antebellum South
HistoryExtra podcast
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What Kind of Language Was Used in These Courts?
Before formal emancipation, black people couldn't go into court and just say anything. They needed to cast their cases in particular ways that suited the constraints of the time. And so they do through the language of property, but they also do it through, you know, claims to reputation in their community. But while they use that language to make their claim, they're making tremendous claims for equal and civil rights.
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