"Generations of American history students have grown up believing that slave rebellion was relatively rare, that slaves accepted their lot and became attached to their masters, and that they were ultimately liberated with little or no effort of their own. Centering Black voices and slave narratives, celebrated historian and children's book author, William Loren Katz offers a thoroughly researched look at the lives of enslaved people in the United States in Breaking the Chains. From their African abductions, through their brave resistance to and escape from the ships and harsh plantation life, to their roles in the Civil War, those given voice here show that the slaves themselves were a driving force behind their emancipation"-- Provided by publisher.