Reviews for Raising Freedom's Child

The average rating for Raising Freedom's Child based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-08-20 00:00:00 Andrew Free Mitchell's book illuminates the disputes waged over access to, control of, and the right to shape the destinies of freedchildren after the Civil War. In placing children at the center of "the problem(s) of freedom," by analyzing visual representations as well as policy debates over labor, education, and socialization, the author opens a window on the political contests of what became of freedchildren. The standard narrative of emancipation focuses on what freedparents wanted for their children and some of the battles they waged with the former slaveholding apparatus to assert control over them and their futures. Mitchell's book throws important light on how other actors, namely white northern and southern civilians and authorities, viewed these children and how they tried to shape freedchildren's destinies to satisfy their own agendas of what black freedom should mean. Stitched into this dominate narrative of white Americans visions of freedchildren are African Americans' strategic efforts to control their children's fates. In all, it is a fascinating analysis of "pull and tug" by adults over the freedom of formerly enslaved children.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-11-16 00:00:00 Chad Chandler Though "Raising Freedom's Child" might not present any groundbreaking points about race relations in the US, her creative use of source material and her focus on children offers an interesting perspective on children during the late 1800s. I consider this book to be a useful addition to the growing field of children's history, and it also serves as an example of the strength of interdisciplinary research. Gender, age, class, and race all come together as Mitchell retells the story of the first generation of children living during Emancipation. All in all, Mitchell writes a great narrative, which makes the book entertaining (if you're into the subject matter, I suppose) as well as informative.