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Beyond the Boundaries of Childhood: African American Children in the Antebellum North (The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture) Kindle Edition

by Crystal Lynn Webster (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
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For all that is known about the depth and breadth of African American history, we still understand surprisingly little about the lives of African American children, particularly those affected by northern emancipation. But hidden in institutional records, school primers and penmanship books, biographical sketches, and unpublished documents is a rich archive that reveals the social and affective worlds of northern Black children. Drawing evidence from the urban centers of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, Crystal Webster's innovative research yields a powerful new history of African American childhood before the Civil War. Webster argues that young African Americans were frequently left outside the nineteenth century's emerging constructions of both race and childhood. They were marginalized in the development of schooling, ignored in debates over child labor, and presumed to lack the inherent innocence ascribed to white children. But Webster shows that Black children nevertheless carved out physical and social space for play, for learning, and for their own aspirations.

Reading her sources against the grain, Webster reveals a complex reality for antebellum Black children. Lacking societal status, they nevertheless found meaningful agency as historical actors, making the most of the limited freedoms and possibilities they enjoyed.
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  1. Part of series
    The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture
  2. Print length
    198 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    The University of North Carolina Press
  6. Publication date
    April 27, 2021
  7. File size
    11490 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Webster offers glimpses of children who are rarely featured in histories of the Civil War era . . . It is certain that this book will inspire many scholars in African American and Childhood Studies to continue down the path that Webster illuminates so creatively."—Civil War Book Review



In this engaging and innovative work, Dr. Crystal Lynn Webster begins the crucial work of filling the gaps in knowledge about Black children in the antebellum era."—Ms. Magazine



This concise, gracefully written book, with its tight temporal and geographic focus, is an essential historical contribution and an invitation to future research about northern Black children and the states of unfreedom that shaped their reality."—Early American Literature



An engaging study. . . . a welcomed addition to the literature calling attention to advancements in Black childhood studies and the need to explore the lives of Black children . . . in the antebellum North."—Historical Studies in Education

Review

Webster's innovative and beautifully written book demonstrates how Black children in the antebellum North claimed freedom and redefined childhood as they played, worked, and moved through the built environment of schools, orphanages, and city streets. With nuanced attention to material realities and imaginative worlds, Webster brilliantly reveals Black children's contributions to the political struggle for equality and human liberation.--Corinne Field, University of Virginia

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08HH1K23P
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of North Carolina Press (April 27, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 27, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 11490 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 198 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
10 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

martha sheffield
5.0 out of 5 stars Important and interesting read!
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
Dr. Webster's highly readable book elucidates the experiences of Black children and their families during the antebellum period as they navigated their complex reality of emancipation, institutionalization, and poverty. Dr. Webster makes a convincing case for her theoretical framework for Black childhood while introducing the reader to actual children from the period, highlighting their struggle and resistance. This important work provides an essential context that informs our continuing concern for justice and equity for Black children with her insights into the historical records of some of history's most vulnerable actors - children.
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Hovhanessian
5.0 out of 5 stars As visceral as Underground Railroad, and all the more because it's history
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2021
Webster, your book is so comprehensively visceral, like the horror and grotesque experience of watching Underground Railroad! The writing is super-powered: reaching right through the "dry" history and bringing it to life to see/feel these children right in our heart and soul.
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