A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States

by Frederick Law Olmstead, David Martin (Editor)

It is rare to find an impartial look at the Southern States before the Civil War, but Frederick Law Olmstead's Journey through the South is a superb view of every aspect of the South; he talks to the Slaves, the overseers, describes the economy and temper of the people in a highly readable travelogue. In Journey, Olmsted comments on the land, the people, agriculture, industry, and slavery. He frequently notes the inadequacy of roads and travel accommodations in the region, and laments the waste of valuable product due to the lack of means and routes. He is generally pleased with Raleigh, and comments on the beauty of the architecture and the evergreens. His travels also take him to turpentine and rosin works. He provides detailed descriptions of the turpentine forests and examines the naval stores, tobacco, and tar industries. He casts an especially critical eye on the institution of slavery. Like North Carolina antislavery advocates Hinton Rowan Helper and Daniel Reaves Goodloe, Olmsted concluded that slavery retarded the economic and social progress of the South. He was especially troubled by the lack of urbanization and manufacturing and agricultural diversity and sophistication. Goodloe later assisted Olmsted in publishing a two-volume compilation of his southern travelogues and antislavery sentiments titled The Cotton Kingdom, which appeared in 1861.

Subjects
•North Carolina -- Description and travel.
•North Carolina -- Economic conditions.
•Plantation life -- Southern States.
•Slavery -- Southern States.
•Slaves -- Southern States -- Social conditions.
•Southern States -- Description and travel.
•Southern States -- Economic conditions.
•Southern States -- Social life and customs.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 21, 2013

Reviews

[Paul Thillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly a travelogue written in the 1850's and a consolidation of three books. Reading it allowed me to understand how isolated rural life was at the time. It gives a very good analysis of what the plantation economy was like and how it held back economic and social development of the region. Also excellent insights into race relations, he gives an alternative (besides war) way to end slavery.

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an ok book that reads like a traveling journalist's notes because that's exactly what it is.