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Most treatments of slavery, politics, and expansion in the early American republic focus narrowly on congressional debates and the inaction of elite "founding fathers" such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. In Slavery, Freedom, and Expansion in the Early American West, John Craig Hammond looks beyond elite leadership and examines how the demands of western settlers, the potential of western disunion, and local, popular politics determined the fate of slavery and freedom in the West between 1790 and 1820.
By shifting focus away from high politics in Philadelphia and Washington, Hammond demonstrates that local political contests and geopolitical realities were more responsible for determining slavery's fate in the West than were the clashing proslavery and antislavery proclivities of Founding Fathers and politicians in the East. When efforts to prohibit slavery revived in 1819 with the Missouri Controversy it was not because of a sudden awakening to the problem on the part of northern Republicans, but because the threat of western secession no longer seemed credible.
Including detailed studies of popular political contests in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri that shed light on the western and popular character of conflicts over slavery, Hammond also provides a thorough analysis of the Missouri Controversy, revealing how the problem of slavery expansion shifted from a local and western problem to a sectional and national dilemma that would ultimately lead to disunion and civil war.
University of Virginia Press
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Peter Miskech
reviewed Slavery, Freedom, and Expansion in the Early American West on January 01, 2016
Slavery, Freedom, and Expansion in the Early American West
I've often said that I don't know how to rate Non-Fiction books. I figured that I was interested in the topic, and have often marveled at the dearth of widely available information regarding the colonial era slave culture. Since I've written a SF novel set in the 1730's that involves slavery in the colonies I figured I should have some minimal exposure to the historicity of the era (before I release it to my half-dozen or so potential readers). Imagine my great joy when I stumbled on this little gem in a used bookstore.
Of course, I was frustrated that of the four main parts of this book, only one really focused on the Atlantic trade... an area of which I knew very little and found horrible and fascinating. The remaining portions were also informative and clearly written, although they bounced around a bit and were frustratingly non-specific about when particular moments happened, was it 1680? 1760? Who knows? I mean, the author did indicate that there were several periods, sometimes decades long, when attitudes towards slavery were softening, and freedoms were granted to slaves, to times when those freedoms were being taken away and more racists attitudes dominated.
Also, northern slaves, southern slaves, slaves in the Chesapeake area, or even the difference between a creole slave and one straight from africa were worlds apart in their treatment, their expectations, of their liberties.... this book tries to make a cohesive tale out of a pretty complicated matter that spanned centuries.
Still, good job all round keeping this concise, and in providing about the best bibliography I've seen in awhile.
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