Race horse men : how slavery and freedom were made at the racetrack

Resource Information

The work Race horse men : how slavery and freedom were made at the racetrack represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Bates College. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Race horse men : how slavery and freedom were made at the racetrack

Title remainder

how slavery and freedom were made at the racetrack

Statement of responsibility

Katherine C. Mooney

Creator

• Mooney, Katherine Carmines,

Author

• Mooney, Katherine Carmines,

Subject

• African American horsemen and horsewomen -- United States -- History -- 19th century
• African American jockeys
• African American jockeys -- History -- 19th century
• History
• Horse racing
• Horse racing -- Social aspects
• 1800 - 1899
• Horse racing -- United States -- History -- 19th century
• Race relations
• Southern States
• Southern States -- Race relations | History -- 19th century
• United States
• Horse racing -- Social aspects -- United States -- History -- 19th century
• African American horsemen and horsewomen

Genre

• History

Language

eng

Summary

• "Recaptures the vivid sights, sensations, and illusions of nineteenth-century thoroughbred racing, America's first mass spectator sport. Inviting readers into the pageantry of the racetrack, Katherine C. Mooney conveys the sport's inherent drama while also revealing the significant intersections between horse racing and another quintessential institution of the antebellum South: slavery"--book jacket
• "Recaptures the vivid sights, sensations, and illusions of nineteenth-century thoroughbred racing, America's first mass spectator sport. Inviting readers into the pageantry of the racetrack, Katherine C. Mooney conveys the sport's inherent drama while also revealing the significant intersections between horse racing and another quintessential institution of the antebellum South: slavery. A popular pastime across American society, horse racing was most closely identified with an elite class of southern owners who bred horses and bet large sums of money on these spirited animals. The central characters in this story are not privileged whites, however, but the black jockeys, grooms, and horse trainers who sometimes called themselves race horse men and who made the racetrack run. Mooney describes a world of patriarchal privilege and social prestige where blacks as well as whites could achieve status and recognition and where favored slaves endured an unusual form of bondage. For wealthy white men, the racetrack illustrated their cherished visions of a harmonious, modern society based on human slavery. After emancipation, a number of black horsemen went on to become sports celebrities, their success a potential threat to white supremacy and a source of pride for African Americans. The rise of Jim Crow in the early twentieth century drove many horsemen from their jobs, with devastating consequences for them and their families. Mooney illuminates the role these too often forgotten men played in Americans' continuing struggle to define the meaning of freedom."--Book jacket

Cataloging source

DLC

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography