“Seizing the New Day is a good book, carefully researched, logically organized, and clearly written. . . . an excellent model for others who would study change at the local level in this fascinating period of American history. And the volume is handsomely illustrated with well-chosen photographs, drawings, and maps." —H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences Wilbert Jenkins sheds light on the strategies used by former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina to adjust to freedom and the efforts they made to battle whites’ attempts to regain control. A thread running throughout the narrative is the determination of Charleston’s freedmen to seize control over their own lives. These goals were not shared by most whites, so the black population crafted the means to achieve their desired ends.”

“Seizing the New Day is a good book, carefully researched, logically organized, and clearly written. . . . an excellent model for others who would study change at the local level in this fascinating period of American history. And the volume is handsomely illustrated with well-chosen photographs, drawings, and maps." —H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences Wilbert Jenkins sheds light on the strategies used by former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina to adjust to freedom and the efforts they made to battle whites’ attempts to regain control. A thread running throughout the narrative is the determination of Charleston’s freedmen to seize control over their own lives. These goals were not shared by most whites, so the black population crafted the means to achieve their desired ends.”