Freedmen and southern society project [the freedmen and southern society project is editing freedom: a documentary history of emancipation, 1861-1867, a ten-volume documentary history of the…

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the University of Maryland, College Park $300,000 on July 1, 2026, under the Promotion of the Humanities Research program (CFDA 45.161) to support completion of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project.

The project edits Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861–1867, a ten-volume documentary history documenting the transition from slavery to freedom in the U.S. South. Eight volumes will be completed before the grant period begins. This award funds editing and publication of the ninth and tenth volumes, which constitute a social history drawn from documents and testimony of emancipated slaves and their contemporaries. The project also maintains a publicly accessible website providing both primary documents and interpretive material, and has published four additional volumes for classroom use.

The University of Maryland, College Park receives the award through its Office of Research Administration & Advancement. The period of performance runs from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2029, with performance taking place in Maryland. The Scholarly Editions and Translations component of the Promotion of the Humanities Research program supports collaborative teams editing, annotating, and translating materials to make important historical records available to scholars and the general public.

Freedmen and southern society project [the freedmen and southern society project is editing freedom: a documentary history of emancipation, 1861-1867, a ten-volume documentary history of the transition from slavery to freedom in the U.S. South. The edition documents a critical juncture in american history: the moment four million slaves gained their freedom. IT constitutes a social history in the words of emancipated slaves and their contemporaries. Eight volumes will have been completed by the beginning of the proposed grant period. The ninth and tenth volumes will be the work of the proposed grant period. The editors have published four additional volumes for general audiences and use in the classroom. The project's website provides both documents and interpretive material.]