Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II

Written by American journalist Douglas Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II (2008) is a thorough account of the forms of slavery perpetuated by economic disempowerment in the South after the Civil War up to World War II. The book addresses themes like The Intentional Revival of Slavery, The Toxic Mix of White Mythology and Naïve Racism, and Challenges of Confronting the Past. Slavery by Another Name was a New York Times bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2009.

Content Warning: This guide discusses slavery and anti-Black racism that are present in the source text. The original text uses outdated terms regarding race that are updated in the guide unless they appear in a direct quotation from the text. SuperSummary supports person-first language regarding enslaved or formerly enslaved individuals, but the guide retains the text’s use of the term “slaves” to facilitate discussing the policies surrounding the abolition and reconstruction of slavery in the South.

Summary

Where other texts examining Jim Crow-era racial segregation focus on the government’s failure to ensure civil rights for African Americans, Slavery by Another Name targets private business for upholding socioeconomic injustice in the US.