Originating with the birth of the nation itself, in many respects, the story of the domestic slave trade is also the story of the early United States. While an external traffic in slaves had always been present, following the American Revolution this was replaced by a far more vibrant internal trade. Most importantly, an interregional commerce in slaves developed that turned human property into one of the most valuable forms of investment in the country, second only to land. In fact, this form of property became so valuable that when threatened with its ultimate extinction in 1860, southern slave owners believed they had little alternative but to leave the Union. Therefore, while the interregional trade produced great wealth for many people, and the nation, it also helped to tear the country apart.The domestic slave trade likewise played a fundamental role in antebellum American society. Led by professional traders, who greatly resembled northern entrepreneurs, this traffic was a central component in the market revolution of the early nineteenth century. In addition, the development of an extensive local trade meant that the domestic trade, in all its configurations, was a prominent feature in southern life. Yet, this indispensable part of the slave system also raised many troubling questions. For those outside the South, it affected their impression of both the region and the new nation. For slaveholders, it proved to be the most difficult part of their institution to defend. And for those who found themselves commodities in this trade, it was something that needed to be resisted at all costs.Carry Me Back restores the domestic slave trade to the prominent place that it deserves in early American history, exposing the many complexities of southern slavery and antebellum American life.

In the tradition of Jack Finney's Time and Again, Laura Watt's debut novel Carry Me Back follows one man back in time, this time to revisit the glory days of country music and take a few hard-earned lessons with the King himself--Hank Williams.

The book is unique in that it mixes theory and practical applications in rethinking traditional social studies education. It focuses on essays integrating media, popular culture, and alternative texts for teaching and learning in social studies and history education through a social education lens. Social education integrates social studies, media / popular culture, and cultural studies all within a social justice framework. The text provides 20+ curriculum themes with strategies to connect in teaching and learning, along with resources to extend depth of understanding. In addition, the pedagogical philosophy inherent in the essays is student-centered learning focusing on issues, problem, and project-based instruction. Although the themes are generally social studies and history focused, the links to media and popular culture can be integrated in other disciplines.