The centerpiece of this generously annotated book is the diary kept by the celebrated agricultural reformer Edmund Ruffin during the eight months in 1843 when, at the request of Governor James Henry Hammond, he conducted an economic survey of South Carolina, traveling to every corner of the state to examine the different farming methods in use and the resources available for their improvement. Ruffin's succinct and pointed narrative, driven by a passionate interest in the perpetuation of slavery, recaptures for the modern reader the physical and social environment of the Palmetto State two decades before the outbreak of the Civil War in the Charleston harbor.

About the Author

Edmund Ruffin (Author)
EDMUND RUFFIN (1794-1865), a Virginia planter and slaveholder, is widely regarded as the "father of soil science" in the United States.

William M. Mathew (Editor)
WILLIAM M. MATHEW is a senior fellow in history at the University of East Anglia. He is also the author of Edmund Ruffin and the Crisis of Slavery in the Old South: The Failure of Agricultural Reform (Georgia). His other books include The House of Gibbs and the Peruvian Guano Monopoly.

Book Information
ISBN 9780820341668
Author Edmund Ruffin
Format Paperback
Page Count 386
Imprint University of Georgia Press
Publisher University of Georgia Press
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 22mm