From Slavery to Freedom with Study Guide

by John Hope Franklin, Alfred A. Moss Jr.

The eighth edition of this best selling text has been thoroughly revised to include expanded material on the slave resistance, the recent history of African Americans in the United States, more on the history of women, and popular culture. The text has also been redesigned with new charts, maps, photographs, paintings, illustrations, and color inserts and an extensive package has been assembled, using technology and other multimedia to bring history to life. Written by distinguished and award-winning authors, retaining the same features that have made it the most popular text on African American History ever, and with fresh and appealing new features, From Slavery to Freedom remains the most revered, respected, honored text on the market.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race, American History, African American, Social Justice, Politics

768 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 1947

About the author

John Hope Franklin, Ph.D. (History, Harvard University, 1941; M.A., History, Harvard U., 1936; B.A., Fisk University, 1935), was the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History at Duke University. He also had served as President of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Southern Historical Association.

Reviews

[Thomas Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

When one encounters John Hope Franklin, now in video form on old TV shows or youtube, the first thing one is struck by is his natural dignity. He had such an easy-going personality, that he was able to easily make you like him right away. There was a benevolent quality about him, a naturally giving kind of spirit. In addition to his calm, kind and peaceful air, one is immediately struck by his intelligence. He's a man that can tell you something that happened 70 years ago with the clarity of as if it happened 5 minutes ago. All of this brings us to this book, the magnum opus of his career. In taking us through the more than 350 years of African-American History, he rarely leaves a stone unturned. The conciseness and clarity of his writing makes it easy to read as well. This book is in the top-rank of survey Histories of Black America, and Professor Hope-Franklin holds his own with any other Historian who has ever written. You will be hard-pressed to find a better History of Africa-America than this. This is a classic book, comprehensive in scope and an excellent piece of scholarship written at the highest level of its craft. I cannot say enough positive things about this work. An outstanding contribution.
I read Hope-Franklin's work no more than 2 pages at a sitting. This is the only way I could digest this mountain of information, to “eat this elephant-of-a-book-of 505 pages only one spoonful at a time.” It takes Job-like patience to do it this way. This is not the kind of book I could do marathon reading with, breezing through 30 to 50 pages at a sitting. If I had done that, I would have gotten bored and bogged down. I also looked up all words in this book in a dictionary that were unfamiliar to me, and copied them down into a notebook. Though I pride myself on having a very comprehensive reading vocabulary, Hope-Franklin's verbiage had me looking up and writing down quite a number of words. I am glad that I read the book slowly and to have also looked up all necessary vocabulary words, absorbing much more information doing it this way than any other way. It took me quite some time to read the book, but I am profoundly blessed to have done it my way. I can only hope the level of my reading is reflected in this review.

[Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amust read history on black people

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text book for my African American History up to 1877 class. Very readable & enlightening.

[Vince Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even with all the attendant publicity of how transforming an experience it was for our president to achieve his office, this famed account is remarkable. Daunting in its range certainly, yet the readable way in which so many stories of heroism and horror, inspiration and contribution are told makes it so worth the experience.

[Ann]

John Hope Franklin was a most amazing man. I requested this book at the library after learning of his connection to Nashville's Fisk University and after his recent death.
This reference / text book is full of a great deal of information - very impressive. I was able to skim through it, though didn't read it cover to cover.

[Edward Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this is one of the best single volume surveys of Black History in America. Dr. Franklin is a sharp chronicler and writes in a tone that is scientific enough, but also with some passion and the patience of a true historian. I first used the book in an African American History course in college and since purchased the most updated versions for family bookshelf.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good, and very accessible, survey of black history in the US. I really recommend this for beginners (like me) in understanding black American history.

[Monise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going to re-read this great book, which provides an in-depth account of African American history, since I will be designing curriculum to use for homeschooling in the Fall.

[N.W. Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving Franklin's landmark text 3 stars. Why? Simply because he is a known revisionist and social historian who emphasizes his opinion instead of reporting objective analysis. Don't get me wrong, the social movement in history was a landmark time for history, at least in my opinion, but the problem here is that Franklin adheres to a Liberal revisionist doctrine (via his sources) without critiquing both sides of the spectrum. Tis why we see - in later chapters - his aggressive opinion on Reagan, Bush, Nixon, Eisenhower, and anyone on the Republican ticket.

His worst analysis from my perspective is his handling of the Carter Administration. Although Carter's 8 AA appointments (in foreign policy) was an important moment for blacks, his foreign policy proved to be very weak. This leads me to question whether or not Carter's appointments were smart or just meant to raise his administration's PR. Franklin practically glorified Carter's "attempts" to stem the rising inflation in America while giving African American's their much needed rights. I find that approach shrewd, but not overly realistic. We get that Carter punched his ticket to the White House as a Populist, but Franklin's inability to acknowledge all the problems facing the counterculture movements (the Vietnam Quagmire debts) and society as a whole in the 70s proves to be his downfall in this regard. Carter's apathetic nature or lack of knowledge on Economics, led to rising inflation by the time Reagan took office, not due to Nixon's ill management.

This is an important book for African American studies, especially for Historians, but I can't say I agree with his aggressive, and often times ironically abusive critiques of the white community (in later generations of course). Since the 80s, America has seen a great increase in the stature of African Americans. We can see as much with the rise in popularity of Tupac, Biggie, Eazy E, 50-Cent and all the contemporary artists. In fact, Black artists seem to own a monopoly on the market today with artists like Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye West etc, etc. Also, the rise of Jesse Jackson in the 80s really proves the changing landscape of the traditional American Social and Political Stratification. And it wasn't just Great Society, Fair Deal, and Liberal advocates who paved the way. Moderates had a huge say on many issues and proved that they supported American Freedom, not just racial justice.

Finalmente, Franklin's prose is engaging and beautifully written. It's just his overall analysis, especially his analysis on later years, proves to be weak, hurt, self-conscious and biased. I would definitely read his book with an accompanying "Regular" history book to compare and contrast. Overall 3.4/5

[Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We face ... a moral crisis as a country and as a people. It cannot be met by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk. It is time to act in the Congress, in your state and local legislative body and, above all, in all our daily lives." (p. 632) These words were spoken by the 35th President of the United States, 57 years ago! Sadly, they are as relevant today as they were then.
Dr. Franklin's history of the Black experience in the Americas is the definitive work on the subject. Nine editions of this book have been printed. I purchased the 3rd edition 50 years ago and reread it this year in an effort to better understand the current Black Lives Matter movement. If you want to know what is meant by the term systemic racism, read this book. If you want to think more deeply about the case being made for reparations, read this book. If you want to "feel" what Black Americans may be feeling about the current state of their status in this country, read this book.
56 years ago, the Republican nominee for President, who had only recently voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, persistently referenced the civil rights demonstrations that were taking place as "crime in the streets." (p. 637) Sound familiar?

[DeeReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Dr. Waller for introducing me to this THOUGHT-PROVOKING JEWEL IN UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL CIRCA 1984!

[Kiki Unhinged · Rating 2 out of 5]

Required reading for Ethnic History class

[Rizky Hutapea · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most complete historical description for black American history

[Ronando: I Stand With Palestinians · Rating 5 out of 5]

It does an excellent job in covering key points in black history. The most informative of the nine books I've read on black history so far.

[Clif · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rice and cotton growers in the New World had a problem. The crops required lots of manual labor that could not be done by machines in heat and humidity that made working conditions terrible. (Anyone who has spent any time in the summer in the American south as I have would think field work there unbearable, even for pay and with limited work hours). With all the work to be done, paying anyone even a tiny amount would make profit very low if any could be made at all.

At first whites and natives were tried, put in bondage to do the work. Since they were among their brethren who were free, running away was always an option and recapture very difficult. What if it were possible to put a kind of brand on slaves with few to none of those branded being free?

Race offered the solution, black skin the brand, and cross-Atlantic commerce the technical means to get the victims to their places of work, far removed from their native land. Slave shipping from Africa began, the rice and cotton crops were brought in with big profits, none of which went to the slaves and all of which went to their owners.

Though the large estates were few and many slaveholders worked alongside their human property, a horror was established that made mockery of those who called their country a democracy upholding human rights. It was a simple machine, the cotton gin, that threw open the road to riches for slave-owners by greatly increasing the efficiency of producing useable cotton from the crop.

John Hope Franklin was a scholar and noted author who died at 94 in 2009. As a typical public school student in the 1950's and 60's, when my town was at long last ending segregated schooling, I was never made aware of him or exposed to anything more than superficial information on the plight of African-Americans in the New World. This masterful book could have eliminated the ignorance that I shared with the great majority of Americans, most of whom still retain that ignorance.

One can't overstate the oppressive, destructive nature of slavery or of the appeal it had for those who saw profit in it. There is no limit to the blindness money makes possible. Slavery's example should be citied today against those who hold the opinion that profit-making enterprises should be left to police themselves. The depths of psychological harm done remains evident in the United States as does the refusal of far too many Americans to acknowledge the repulsive institution as a monumental injustice that has only recently been given the attention it deserves with such places as the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee or the recently opened National Memorial to Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

To this reader, there is no more riveting story about the United States than that of slavery. The opening of the west pales in comparison as does the history of the formation of 13 colonies and their eventual union into one country. It is impossible to conceive of the mental and physical burden of slavery on those enslaved, but equally difficult to understand the equanimity of the slaveholders who went to the extreme of defending the institution as a positive good in the years leading up to the American Civil War.

As this book makes clear, the Civil War did little to better the condition of those who had been in bondage. Slaves were freed only to find themselves virtually re-enslaved in the South following the very brief period of Radical Reconstruction. Even in the 21st century we hear too often of police killing unarmed African-Americans, shooting first then asking questions later.

Franklin's work is comprehensive. Individuals are credited frequently. One reads of the KKK, of the Underground Railroad, of the willing, even eager participation of blacks in the wars of the United States, of the relentless effort to hold down blacks by whites as avenues for equality were only slowly opened with great difficulty, politicians helping to set up hurdles to voting and turning a blind eye to violent repression. The role of religion is presented throughout. The West Indies experience is included.

This book, at last, has become established as a text in American history, though I am sure in some states it would still be considered unacceptable. While the third edition paperback I found at a yard sale for 25 cents fell apart as I read it, the latest edition, the tenth, goes for $165 at Amazon, the price a sure sign of it being a textbook. What irony this history of no and low wage laborers is a profit maker today. I checked local libraries and was pleased to see that most have at least one copy, so cost should not limit readership. Each new edition brings the story up to date. My copy ended in the mid 1960's.

Franklin is not out to create heroes or villains, simply to document them. He states the facts, holding people accountable for what they did or did not do when the times demanded a stand be taken. That new editions continue to come out is testimony that the story is not over. One must still stand up for human rights 160 years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A social studies teacher recommended this book because it is a classic college text book for African American studies. Since the book was published, there have been numerous updated versions published. Including updates where the title has changed to reflect the times - such as, "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans." I picked this 3rd edition published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, because it leaves off at the time of the Vietnam War, which was when I began to participate fully in American life as a voting adult. I wish I had read this as a history book when I was younger. I would have had a much better understanding of American history.
I read this book on the Internet Archive. There are numerous editions available, as well as other books by John Hope Franklin.
I found the book easy to read because it is written in an engaging and conversational style. It is organized like a classic text in outline form. With Chapter headings and then subheadings of topics within each chapter. There are few illustrations, but the ones that are included are relevant to the reading and very interesting. What I really appreciated most about the book is that it is an engaging history, which includes the whole of American history. The author doesn't just tell about a war, he describes how the war affected everyone, including those on the home front and what was happening to the economy and social-life at the time.
Because this is a college text, it appears to have been written for students who have at least studied a basic history of the United States and the World. Of course, you can always look up information on the internet, if you run into material that needs explanation, which I did a few times.
To give you an idea about what is in the book, here is a list of chapters:
I. Cradle of Civilization
II. Early Negro States of Africa
III. The African Way of Life
IV. The Slave Trade
V. Seasoning in the Islands
VI. Servitude and Slavery in the Southern Colonies
VII. Experimenting in the Middle Colonies
VIII. Puritan Masters
IX. Latin America’s Bondmen
X. That All Men May Be Free
XI. The Turn of the Century
XII. The Western March
XIII. That Peculiar Institution
XIV. Quasi-Free Negroes
XV. Slavery and Intersectional Strife
XVI. Civil War
XVII. The Effort to Attain Peace
XVIII. Losing the Peace
XIX. Freedom South of the Border
XX. Canadian Negroes
XXI. Philanthropy and Self-Help
XXII. The Negro and American Imperialism
XXIII. Dawn of a New Century
XXIV. In pursuit of Democracy
XXV. Democracy Escapes
XXVI. A Harlem Renaissance
XXVII. The New Deal
XXVIII. Social and Cultural Strivings
XXIX. Fighting for the Four Freedoms
XXX. The Post-War Years
XXXI. The Negro Revolution
Bibliographical Notes
The bibliography is extensive: pages 653 to 687 and contains: general histories, pioneer modern works, different approaches to history of the negro, volumes documenting general history treatment of the negro, monographs politics and legal aspects, economic history, social and intellectual history. In addition, each chapter has a detailed biography of references used in the writing of each chapter.
Index
There is a detailed index from page 687 to 760.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This basic history of the African American from pre-enslavement to the late 1960s is a classic on par with Lerone Bennett's. That one is arguably slightly easier reading, but this one at times has a certain poetry to it and also covers even more history. I chose to read the 1967 version (the third edition) rather than one of the many later editions that continue to come out every few years because the 1967 version would have been one the Black Panthers would have actually assigned in their later years.

Items that stood about regarding this book, as opposed to Bennett's: Franklin puts the Black United States in the context of Black America in general, so there are chapters on the Caribbean and Brazil. This gives one a better sense of the slave trade overall. Of note is the fact that in many of these other areas, the same sort of racism that became paramount to the continuation of slavery in the United States wasn't always present in some of these other colonies/nations. It's like we had to run a certain class of people down in order to continue to justify the manner in which we treated them--not so much in some other locales. A freedperson was just as much a citizen no matter the color of skin. That said, evidence doesn't always match up with such a claim. Some freedpeople joined with slaves in indepedence causes; some joined with the colonizers. It just depended. And likewise, darker skin, unfortunately, sometimes leads to racist impulses even elsewhere. In that sense, I think of the C. L. R. James book I read and how he puts African-descended people everywhere into a similar struggle.

As with Bennett's book, I also particularly enjoyed the portion of the work about Reconstruction. Bennett made clear many of the gains that were made during that period after the Civil War. Franklin doesn't seem as keen on those temporal improvements, focusing more on how short of ideal that were. What's more, he also writes a bit of the initial couple of years after the Civil War, which really in a way precede Reconstruction. It's like the South went right back to doing what it had been doing before, though with enslavement having a different name (many Confederates returned to government). The abuse heaped on former slaves is part of the reason the federal government ended up taking a firmer stand and even banning former Confederate officeholders for a time. But I hadn't ever really thought of that short gap between the war and Reconstruction; it really isn't talked about much.

The sections on the civil rights movement were interesting insofar as Franklin puts so much of that history together. I have read a lot about this period, but I realized I've rarely read about the various parts of the movement in the larger context--how sit-ins fit alongside marches alongside Freedom Bus Rides and so on. One thing I found interesting was the way that the state government tried to stop the Montgomery Bus Boycott by claiming the people were illegally interfering with business (seems utterly ridiculous: you MUST shop at/eat at/use this business--what kind of law is that?).

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5**

[EN:]
From Slavery To Freedom is a classic non-fiction work that explores the social, economic, political, and cultural dimensions of African-American history until the 1980-90s. It includes several images, photos, and excerpts of official documents, and writings by influential members of the Black community. The authors also do not shy away from the multiplicity of positions among the African-American people.
Despite being a renowned study of the history of Black-Americans where female contributions to the fight for freedom are limited to the communal and familiar dimensions they directly occupy. Their roles are barely mentioned. As wives and mothers first in the African continent, and later in the Americas during the slavery period; as brief participants in the 19th-century abolitionist movement; as an unclear part of the “rough estimate of the total number of Negroes in the armed services during World War II”, except for the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. Other than a few mentions of female organizations, such as YWCA and WPC, and certain figures, such as Mrs. Rosa Parks, their efforts behind the civil rights movement are overlooked, when compared to their male counterparts.
Nonetheless, it gives an idea of the conceptualization of race-based discrimination and of the development of the fights against it.

[PT:]
From Slavery To Freedom é uma obra clássica de não ficção que explora as dimensões sociais, económicas, políticas e culturais da história afro-americana até os anos 1980-90. Inclui várias imagens, fotos e excertos de documentos oficiais e de escritos de membros da comunidade negra. Os autores também não se esquivam da grande variedade de posições dentro da comunidade afro-americana.
Apesar de ser um famoso estudo da história dos afro-americanos, esta obra limita as contribuições femininas para a luta pela liberdade às dimensões comunitárias e familiares. Seus papéis são pouco mencionados. Como esposas e mães primeiro no continente africano e depois nas Américas durante o período da escravatura; como breves participantes do movimento abolicionista do século XIX; como uma parte pouco explícita da “estimativa aproximada do número total de negros nas forças armadas durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial”, exceto para o Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. Além de algumas menções a organizações femininas, como YWCA e WPC, e certas figuras, como Rosa Parks, os esforços das mulheres por detrás do movimento dos direitos civis são negligenciados, quando comparados aos seus pares masculinos.
No entanto, From Slavery To Freedom transmite uma ideia da conceptualização da discriminação racial e do desenvolvimento das lutas contra este tipo de injustiça social.

[Mo the Lawyer✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Hope Franklin was a revered and respected historian when I first picked up this book as part of my undergraduate studies. My professor could not have selected a better textbook for African American history, in my view. It was a "must read" for those hoping to get a true, in-depth understanding of African American history.

Although I have not read the latest edition which includes updated information by another author, I still hold this book in high regard based on my reading it many years ago. It begins with an overview of African Americans' origins in Africa before slavery began, then moves on to American colonial times. There is also some exploration of blacks' struggles in the Caribbean and South America. It covers both political and economic strife in modern day America as well as the involvement of African Americans in the armed forces, the arts, and competitive sports.

This is a book that history buffs will want to keep on their shelves. I highly recommend it for those researching history or simply trying to get a better understanding of it.

[Rob Erekson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took a while to get though. It’s absolutely filled to the brim with historical information and facts. In fact, I went though at least 2 highlighters while reading this. While a dry read (I mean, it is a textbook), it was also a fascinating dive into the long and complex history of blacks in America.

[Tony Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ultimate textbook on the journey from Africa through slavery, reconstruction & Jim Crow, the great migration & civil rights movement. If every American school had taught this, our nation would be in a far better place than it is today. Spoiler: Capitalism creates our wealth, but also many of our problems.

[Brad Neece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not an easy read but an informatively fulfilling one. It’s a comprehensive account of the African American experience from the slavery era through the post civil rights era.

[Angelika Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's quite comprehensive, up until the '60s.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of boring. A bit like a series of encyclopedia articles. But one can imagine how exciting it must have been to read this African-American history of America when it was first published.

[Howard Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulously researched by Franklin and Moss, this highly readable book begins by presenting a broad view of early African empires, Ghana, Mali, and Songhay, dating back to before the Middle Ages. In fascinating detail, the reader is presented with societies that were remarkably sophisticated, with a sharp focus on their political, economic, and social systems, as well as art and music.

After this foundation is carefully laid, the authors then sweep forward to The Slave Trade and the New World, followed by Colonial Slavery, thus providing a vivid portrait of the roots of racism and the problem that has haunted America ever since their development. No detail is spared in depicting the tragic irony involved as the founders of the colonies, and thereafter the United States, idealized freedom and democracy, while simultaneously permitting the abominable institution of slavery to exist and flourish.

Building upon this base, eras are then explored, depicting the role of Blacks from the New Republic to Manifest Destiny, to Slavery and Intersectional Strife, to the Civil War, then followed by Reconstruction and Economic Adjustment. And adding to a well-rounded narrative that incorporates opposite viewpoints, from white supremacy to abolitionist philosophy, along with governing political, economic, social, and religious factors, the authors further spice their comprehensive story-line with Eyewitness Accounts from a cross-section of individuals who lived during the various times.

In the last third of this monumental work, the authors offer a vivid picture of the enormity of African Americans’ struggle to survive and become full citizens, from the latter part of the 1860s through the turn of the century and World War I, then continuing from the 1920s through the Great Depression and World War II, and further from the post war through the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to the turn of the Twenty-first century.

Each era is explored thoroughly from a political, economic, social, and religious perspective, with chapters also devoted to cultural revolutions such as The Harlem Renaissance.

I began by recommending From Slavery to Freedom to those who seek to fully understand the long, tragic history of racism. I feel compelled to add that everyone would benefit from reading it. For while those of us living today are not to blame for slavery and the racism underlying it, I would argue that we are responsible for eliminating the cancer of racism in our country and in our world, and working steadfastly as individuals and through our political, social, economic, and cultural institutions to create a just society for all members.

[Luis Quiros · Rating 5 out of 5]

The work of a man who understood that history, without our stories was a deception that needed to be exposed. His mission as a historian was not to simply compile historical events but to bring forth the history of the people who lived through those historical events and to give a voice to their experiences.

[Josh Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

The singular commitment to cataloguing and analyzing the history of black people in the United States that this volume exhibits provides a perspective on American history that is invaluable for understanding our present day circumstances - both for understanding contemporary issues that are “about race” as well as the ones that seem not to be.

[Tbuikema · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bryan Stevenson (on The Ezra Klein Show podcast): "I'm torn because I'm so committed to getting people to understand this history more. I want to recommend something like From Slavery to Freedom by John Hope Franklin. But I'm also worried that we need to engage in a deeper reflection around redemption, around recovery, and that makes me want to recommend ... Gilead by Marilynne Robinson..."

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A foundational book for me as I was entering the historical field. And I got to spend a lovely afternoon sharing lunch with this great historian and man while I was just starting graduate school. One of the highlights of my life.

[Doug Weiser]

I finally finished reading this book.

I was prepared for it not to be a page turner, but I did not know it was a 636 page college level text book when I ordered it. Still, I feel it was a very enlightening read.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the US.