“Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861-1867: Series 3, Volume 2: Land and Labor, 1866-1867” Edited by René Hayden

Land and Labor, 1866-1867 examines the remaking of the South’s labor system in the tumultuous aftermath of emancipation. Using documents selected from the National Archives, this volume of Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation depicts the struggle of unenfranchised and impoverished ex-slaves to control their own labor, establish their families as viable economic units, and secure independent possession of land. The documents–many of them in the freedpeople’s own words–speak eloquently for themselves, while the editors’ interpretive essays provide context and illuminate major themes.