In the midst of liberation: a comparison of a Russian estate and a southern plantation at the moment of emancipation
Date
2016
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Utilizing a variety of primary and secondary source material, this dissertation is a comparative study of how the story of freedom unfolded at two demesnes, a Russian estate, Yazikovo Selo, on the Volga River, and a Southern plantation, Palmyra, on the Mississippi River, from the moment of the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 through to the end of the Reform period in 1881 and the liberation of the slaves in the American South through to the end of Reconstruction in 1877. By combining the sweep and context of the emancipation era with a comparative study of two local regions, I examine how freedom proceeded in each region, and how the various groups involved responded to it. Rather than looking at both emancipation and the evolution of freedom in Russia and the American South as isolated, self-contained stories, my approach re-conceptualizes each country’s experience into an integrated, global history with parts that exhibit both similarities and diversity. At the same time, this study falls into the micro history paradigm, which appreciates the personal story for its unique qualities as well as its potential for contributing nuance and promoting a better understanding of established narratives. Categories of analysis in this study include the role and nature of resistance, the impact of rumors and hearsay, the conditional nature of emancipation, the shape that labor took at each demesne, and how freedom impacted the freed people’s daily lives. Notwithstanding the drag of culture and the inertia of tradition and history, emancipation was revolutionary. Notwithstanding their lack of social capital, the freed people had agency.