The Journal of Negro History, Volume 2, 1917

About this book

The Journal of Negro History, Volume 2 (1917) is a scholarly periodical that assembles a wide range of essays, reviews, and primary documents concerning African‑American and African topics. Its opening pages list contributions ranging from “Slave Status in American Democracy” by John M. Mecklin to notes on the Danish West Indies, while the first article of the January 1917 issue launches a detailed examination of slavery in Africa. The piece sets out a sociological framework, describing three environmental conditions, abundant land, disagreeable labor, and free land, that give rise to slave systems, then applies this model to distinct African zones (banana, agricultural, pastoral) with vivid descriptions of their economies, customs, and the resulting patterns of captivity and trade.

The writing reflects the early‑twentieth‑century academic tone of the American Negro Historical Association, combining meticulous citation, formal diction, and a didactic style typical of contemporary historical journals. Readers interested in the intellectual history of African‑American scholarship, historians of slavery, or anyone seeking a period‑specific analysis of African economic zones and the trans‑Atlantic slave trade will find this volume a valuable primary source.