Two ‘hot’ topics in history today are the too-long neglected story of the internal slave trade—a massive forced migration of people across the South—and slavery’s role in the development of capitalism. William James Smith’s ledger helps us understand both by showing how a small-time capitalist slave trader plied his trade, something historians have rarely explored. In Backcountry Slave Trader, therefore, the Racines make an invaluable primary source readily available. And they do much more. They provide a deft discussion of the social and cultural context in which Smith operated and an insightful analysis of what his ledger and letters reveal about the internal slave trade.
