FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

http://oah.org/pubs/magazine/antebellumslavery/

OAH Magazine of History Publishes Issue on Antebellum Slavery
Bloomington, IN, May 13, 2009—Antebellum slavery is the theme of the April
2009 issue of the quarterly Magazine of History just published by the
Organization of American Historians (OAH).

Historian Susan O’Donovan of Harvard University guest edited the issue. As
she writes in a Foreword, “America's slave past remains a tricky topic to
teach. Tangled up with contemporary social and political issues and
distorted by years of literary and cinematic treatments (including some of
Hollywood's most lucrative productions [such as Gone with the Wind]),
slavery continues to loom as something of a pedagogical minefield, one
that many teachers are unprepared to deal with and consequently wish to
avoid.”

To help teachers carry out this task—and to educate a wide range of
readers—feature articles by historians Dylan Penningroth, Adam Rothman,
Calvin Schermerhorn and Thavolia Glymph take up various subtopics: the
changing historical interpretations of slavery, slavery and western
expansion, the everyday life of enslaved people, and resistance to
slavery.

High school teacher Gretchen Catron contributes a teaching strategy using
runaway slave advertisements, while public historian Marie Parys offers a
way for teachers to link together the New England textile industry,
abolitionism and slavery.  Additional articles include a compendium of
online sources on antebellum slavery; a “Teaching with Documents” feature
about Democratic politician Richard M. Johnson and his enslaved common-law
wife Julia Chinn; and a “History Today” article focused on the “Follow the
North Star” program that reenacts the Underground Railroad at the Conner
Prairie living history museum.

The Magazine of History, edited by Carl R. Weinberg at OAH headquarters in
Bloomington, has been published by the OAH since 1985. Devoted to
improving the teaching of U.S. history, it reaches an audience of more
than 5,000 college professors, high school teachers, public history
professionals and librarians.

Visit the issue’s website for access to selected articles, cover image,
table of contents and information on the Magazine of History: <
http://oah.org/pubs/magazine/antebellumslavery/>.
For more information, contact Guest Editor Susan O’Donovan at
[log in to unmask] or Editor Carl R. Weinberg at [log in to unmask]
and at 812-855-9882.

Carl Weinberg
Organization of American Historians
812-855-9882
812-855-0696 (fax)
[log in to unmask]