People of Rose Hill: Black and White Life on a Maryland Plantation

On Maryland's Eastern Shore, Thomas Marsh Forman took over the proprietorship of Rose Hill plantation from his father. A detailed examination of this one plantation, The People of Rose Hill, reveals the workings of the entire plantation system in the border region between the end of the Revolution and the approach of the Civil War. Lucy Maddox examines the public and private lives of the people of Rose Hill, who worked together in a profitable agricultural enterprise while maintaining relationships with one another that were cautious, distant, sometimes secretive, and often explosive. She also provides readers with fascinating insights into life and labor on the plantation, from grueling daily work schedules to menus for elaborate dinners and teas.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 07 September 2021
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

When Thomas Marsh Forman returned from the Revolutionary War in his early twenties, he took over the proprietorship of Rose Hill plantation from his father. The estate was located along the Sassafras River in Cecil County, on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Rose Hill was a product of its historical moment, a time when men like Forman acted on their belief that the future prospects of the country required a continuation not only of their energy, skills, and desire to improve the lives of Americans but also of the slave economy they had done so much to shape.

A focused study of this one plantation, The People of Rose Hill, illuminates the workings of the entire plantation system in the border region between the end of the Revolution and the approach of the Civil War. Lucy Maddox looks closely at the public and private lives of the people of Rose Hill, who labored together in a profitable agricultural enterprise while maintaining relationships with one another that were cautious, distant, sometimes secretive, and often explosive. Making extensive use of the letters of wife, Martha Ogle Forman, Maddox places the experiences of Rose Hill's inhabitants (enslaved and free) within the context of the cultural, economic, and political history of the state. Piecing together the scattered information in these documents, she offers readers fascinating insights into life and labor on the plantation, from grueling daily work schedules to menus for elaborate dinners and teas. Her account includes comparative analyses of family structures and social practices within the Forman family and in the community of ensl.

Weight: 518g
Dimension: 161 x 236 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781421440958