James Henry Hammond and the Old South: A Design for Mastery (Southern Biography Series)

In her biography of James Henry Hammond, Drew Gilpin Faust (now president of Harvard) offers an insightful look on one of the leading planters, political leaders and intellectuals of antebellum South Carolina. Faust offers a solid description of Hammond's tenure in the US House, as governor of South Carolina and in the US Senate. Like a host of South Carolina politicians of the time, Hammond was in the shadow of Calhoun. Faust also shows how Hammond's ambitions were often undermined by a horrid personal life, showing how the man married for money, had sexual encounters with four of his nieces (which would seriously impact his political career for a decade), and had children with a number of his slaves. Hammond even took a 12 year old slave as his mistress. At the same time, Hammond was also very cultured and well read and counted the novelist William Gillmore Sims as one of his closest friends. Faust does not offer the depth on Hammond's intellectual pursuits in this book as she did in "A Sacred Circle" though she is much better on his life in politics, as a planter, and as a man. She also uses primary sources and indicts Hammond through his own diaries.There is one serious problem with the book. As Faust clearly shows, Hammond was a man of great ambitions and industry. He was not exactly a content southern planter but was instead a capitalist in a traditional agrarian society who rose up from the lower middle class. Hammond was not typical of the Old South by any means in terms of his intellect, his faith, his politics (while an ardent defender of slavery, Hammond was not a secessionist in 1860, rare to say the least in SC), as a planter, and yes in his personal life. Faust tries too hard to make Hammond the personification of his time and place. It can't be done. Hammond was a monster. Monsters are never the norm, even in the Old South.Despite this, Faust offers a good and haunting look at an important man in the Old South who never quite lived up to his ambitions and dreams-and became a beast in spite of his high visions.

Fascinating look at a flawed but interesting man who had a large impact on South Carolina politics before the Civil War. Also a look at the slave system through the eyes of an eloquent defender, which reveals that some of his own conduct was inconsistent with the ideals of the duties of the slave owner that he espoused. Author Drew Gilpin Faust is now President of Harvard. She is a skilled historian of the first rank and this book helped to make her reputation.

I was assigned this book for class, which required me to only read a few sections of it. It was surprisingly engaging and rather interesting. I don't know if I'd suggest it to the casual reader but if you are assigned it for class, legitimately take some time to read the book instead of just skimming.

The book is in wonderful condition with only a couple of page bends throughout. There were no pen/pencil/highlighter markings to be found and the cover is perfect.

This product came on time, in good condition. It helped with school and I didn't expect anything more. I do not recommend reading for entertainment purposes. =]

Wife loves southern history and this was a gift. I can't speak to the accuracy, writing quality or the writing style.

This is a good book. I needed it for my college history class which i am writing a paper on one chapter. Definitely will recomend this book to anyone who loves history.

In her biography of James Henry Hammond, Drew Gilpin Faust (now president of Harvard) offers an insightful look on one of the leading planters, political leaders and intellectuals of antebellum South Carolina. Faust offers a solid description of Hammond's tenure in the US House, as governor of South Carolina and in the US Senate. Like a host of South Carolina politicians of the time, Hammond was in the shadow of Calhoun. Faust also shows how Hammond's ambitions were often undermined by a horrid personal life, showing how the man married for money, had sexual encounters with four of his nieces (which would seriously impact his political career for a decade), and had children with a number of his slaves. Hammond even took a 12 year old slave as his mistress. At the same time, Hammond was also very cultured and well read and counted the novelist William Gillmore Sims as one of his closest friends. Faust does not offer the depth on Hammond's intellectual pursuits in this book as she did in "A Sacred Circle" though she is much better on his life in politics, as a planter, and as a man. She also uses primary sources and indicts Hammond through his own diaries.There is one serious problem with the book. As Faust clearly shows, Hammond was a man of great ambitions and industry. He was not exactly a content southern planter but was instead a capitalist in a traditional agrarian society who rose up from the lower middle class. Hammond was not typical of the Old South by any means in terms of his intellect, his faith, his politics (while an ardent defender of slavery, Hammond was not a secessionist in 1860, rare to say the least in SC), as a planter, and yes in his personal life. Faust tries too hard to make Hammond the personification of his time and place. It can't be done. Hammond was a monster. Monsters are never the norm, even in the Old South.Despite this, Faust offers a good and haunting look at an important man in the Old South who never quite lived up to his ambitions and dreams-and became a beast in spite of his high visions.