Emancipation and the citizenship that followed conferred upon                  former slaves the right to create family relationships that were sanctioned,                  recognized, and regulated by the laws that governed the families of all American                  citizens. Elizabeth Regosin explores what the acquisition of this legal familial                  status meant to former slaves, personally, socially, and                  politically.The Civil War pension system offers a                  fascinating source of documentation for this study of ex-slave families in                  transition from slavery to freedom. Because the provisions made to compensate                  eligible Union veterans and surviving family members created a vast bureaucracy --                  pension officials required and verified extensive proof of qualification -- former                  slaves were obliged to reproduce and represent the inner workings of their familial                  relationships.Regosin reveals through both their                  personal histories and pension narratives how former slaves constructed identities                  as individuals and as family members while they negotiated the boundaries of                  "family" as defined by the pension system. The stories told by                  ex-slaves, their witnesses, and the government officials who played a role in the                  pension process all serve to provide us with a richer understanding of life for                  newly emancipated African Americans.

Freedom's Promise: Ex-Slave Families and Citizenship in the Age of Emancipation PDF

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