Soul By Soul By Walter Johnson: An Analysis

An American in the 19th century defined what it meant to be American while trying to fit the very definition. In trying to become a master, men dictated what it meant to be a master. In trying to become a proper white woman, women determined what being a proper white woman meant for others. The concepts of gentility, honor, paternalism, and whiteness were deeply rooted in the antebellum slave market, and played a role in influencing the reasons why Americans would choose to purchase slaves. Class and social distinctions led to paths made navigating through the slave market an experience with different significance for everyone. This is one of the centering ideas of the book in Soul by Soul by Walter Johnson. The rhetoric used within the slave

Some trained themselves to view the commodification of souls as investments (Johnson 83). Those that did as such often wrote to their older white male relatives with accounts how they carefully chose to spend family funds. They framed their narratives to be acceptable by their uncles, fathers, fathers-in-law, etc. Stan Steer, for example, wrote to his uncle in 1818 of how “‘the best stock…[to] invest capital is…Negro stock’” with hopes of making a name for himself, separate from his uncle (Johnson 83). It was a sound financial decision for a gentleman to purchase a slave given the profits that the production of cotton yielded. Additionally, it was a decision that proved these men were worthy of their male relatives’ approval. The goal for men like Steer was to make wise investments and make a name for themselves. White men also found themselves using necessity as an excuse to purchase slaves. Like J.D. Conrad Weeks said in a letter to his brother, men claimed to be unable to “‘get along without [slaves]’” without it being a “‘great inconvenience’” (Johnson 85). White male Americans turned a blind eye on the horrors of slavery by choosing to see dollar signs. It is easier to treat lives as commodities when one sees only numbers. The slaves were absolutely “necessary” for men like Weeks, and just like him there were planters before and many after who also found it imperative to own slaves. For planters, there was an infinite array of reasons why slaves were