Antebellum Slavery

This 334 page book does not pander to the "politics of guilt and pity," but relies on primary resource documents from the 18th and 19th centuries. The author also examines writings of the early church fathers, declarations of early church councils on the treatment of slaves, interpretations of the reformers on slavery, and statements of respected clergymen from the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, he has drawn from the only professionally conducted interviews with ex-slaves, a WPA project known as the American Slave Narratives: The Federal Writers' Project of 1936-1938. The book makes the point that it is ludicrous to apologize (as several states have done recently) to a black population for legal slavery that occurred years ago when presently illegal slavery exists in at least 20 countries of the world including the USA. Any talk of reparations is nonsensical. The book is dvided into three parts: A. The Historical and Ecclestiastical View of Slavery; B. The True View of Slavery in the South; C. The Biblical View of Slavery. This a book that should be read by every student of sociology, history, or theology. Dr. Roper's style is lively and never tiring. The book is sprinkled with poignant illustartions. It may be called many things, but never boring.