From the publisher’s description:
Eugene Genovese explores the efforts of American slaveholders to reconcile the intellectual dilemma in which they found themselves as supporters of freedom but defenders of slavery. In The Slaveholders’ Dilemma, Genovese argues that the spokespeople for the Southern position demonstrated much greater intellectual talent than has been recognized in the past.
Genovese, Eugene D. (NHC Fellow, 1984–85; 1987–88). The Slaveholders’ Dilemma: Freedom and Progress in Southern Conservative Thought, 1820-1860. Jack N. and Addie D. Averitt Lecture Series. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1992. ISBN 9780872499959.