An American historian who studied the antebellum South and the institution of slavery. Phillips focused on the large plantations that shaped the Southern economy, largely overlooking smaller farmers with fewer enslaved people. He concluded that plantation slavery, while generating wealth, was an economic dead end that left the South bypassed by the North's industrial revolution. By shifting scholarly focus from the divisive political debates over slavery, Phillips established the economics and social structure of slavery as the central theme in 20th-century historical research. His eloquent writing style and novel approach made him the most influential historian of the ante-bellum South, and his interpretation of white supremacy as the "central theme of southern history" remains a significant lens through which Southern history is understood.
An important contribution to the history of the American South, this volume collects a series of essays that shed new light on the founding and early years of the colony of Georgia. Including insights into social, economic, and political forces that shaped this period, these essays are essential reading for anyone interested in the history of this region.
A Survey of the Supply, Employment and Control of Negro Labor as Determined by the Plantation Regime Paperback