Blassingame provides a fascinating section on the parallels between the institution of slavery and other total institutions such as concentration camps and prisons. In doing so, he examines slavery from another perspective and shows that greater mutuality and accommodation are evident in the master-slave relationship than many individuals believe. The author also demonstrates that power relations in any institution between those in absolute power and those they control does not necessarily result in total subordination of the powerless group simply because they are not powerless as he shows with slaves. As Blassingame writes of this phenomenon,

From the comparison, it would appear that there is no deterministic relationship between institutional sanctio

Another unique aspect of Blassingame's interpretation of cultural and personal development of American slaves during the antebellum period is his belief that specifically because of their "community," they were able to offer a staunch form of resistance to slaveholders, even though they were classified as property and of inferior status legally. As Blassingame writes, the community of American slaves was so entrenched and recognizable at times that slave owners often remarked on them, "Masters frequently noted the sense of community in the quarters; they reported that slaves usually shared their few goods, rarely stole from each other, and the strong helped the weak."[4] Slaves also refused to tell on each other and respected each other out of character not out of fear, as with the respect offered masters in most instances.