Up Before Daybreak

This book was very interesting to me. Having grown up in cotton country, I realized just how little I know about this part of the world and our history. I also did not realize what an integral part cotton played in the Industrial Revolution and what an instrument of change it really was. I have always known that cotton played an integral role in our nation's history and obviously still affects our lives in significant ways even now, since many fabrics are based from cotton. I have a good friend who farms cotton and struggles to make ends meet now; I cannot even imagine what it would have been like for him to have been farming at that point in history.

What I really like about this book is that it puts historical facts side-by-side with primary sources; first-hand accounts of the time, whether it was the testimony of a former slave or a mill worker. These sources help bring this time period alive. It helps us understand the times on a more personal level. We can relate and to some degree try to put ourselves in their shoes. I also thought the photographs in this book were fantastic and very well placed. The photos helped me understand more about the text. Visual images can be so powerful in improving our comprehension and helped give me a deeper understanding and I think they did exactly that in this book.

I would most definitely use this book in a history classroom, especially in the classes that talk about "King Cotton" and slavery. I would also use this book when discussing the Industrial Revolution and the changes in the rights of women and children.