The Plantation Negro as a Freeman: Observations on His Character, Condition, and Prospects in Virginia.

8vo, original cloth, spine lettered in gilt, top cover lettered in black, ix, 262, [4] ad pp. Ex-library copy, pockets and spine label removed, usual stampings and markings, rubbing and shelf wear, spine ends and corners worn, occasional underlining, slight aging; otherwise very good. Bruce attempts to look at African Americans in the years following the end of slavery. He claims not to analyze the impact of slavery, but rather to describe the African American as he was at that point in time. He argues that as a freeman "he must stand like members of every other class on his own merits." To accomplish his task, Bruce turns his attention to the tobacco regions of Virginia, and against that background, takes a look at how African Americans behave in various social relationships, and comments on what he considers some of their moral and mental characteristics. His observations are often racist, and show he was as much a product of his history as the people he was writing about. Bruce argues that African Americans are more superstitious, tend to be less intelligent (except perhaps of these of a mixed race background), and less morally developed than whites. Sometimes Bruce seems to acknowledge the impact of slavery, but generally he seems to suggest his conclusions are from observations.