From the very inception of the United States, few issues have been so divisive and defining as American slavery. Even as the U.S. was founded on principles of liberty, independence and freedom, slavery advocates and sympathizers positioned themselves in every aspect of American influence. Over the centuries, the characterization of early American figures, legislation and party platforms has been debated.
The author seeks to clarify often unanswered--or ignored--questions about notable figures, sociopolitical movements and their positions on slavery. From early legislation like the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 to Reconstruction and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, this book explores some of America's most controversial moments. Spanning the first American century, it offers a detailed chronology of slavery and racism in early U.S. politics and society.
Author(s): Michael C. Thomsett
Publisher: McFarland
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 249
City: Jefferson
Cover
Table of Contents
Foreword by Ken West
Preface
Part I: Slavery, Political Parties, and the Supreme Court
1. A Pill Too Bitter to Swallow
The Presentation of a Complex History
Racism in Context
Jim Crow
2. The Most Oppressive Dominion
Slavery in the New World
The Three-Fifths Compromise
The Slave Power
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The Fugitive Slave Law of 1793
The Slave Trade Act of 1794
Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of 1807
The Missouri Compromise
The Wilmot Proviso
The Compromise of 1850
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854
The Ostend Manifesto
3. The Greatest Political Evil
The First Party System
The Federalist Party
The Emergence of the Whig Party
The Free Soil Party
Founders’ Concerns About a Party System
The Era of Good Feelings
Democracy and Andrew Jackson
The Second Party System
A Change in Political Climate
Republicans from 1854 to 1860
The Know Nothing Movement
The Opposition Party and the Constitutional Union Party
The Election of 1860
4. “A Slave, and Not a Citizen.”
Slavery-Related Cases and the Supreme Court
The Nullification Battle
McCullough v. Maryland
Gibbons v. Ogden
The Antelope
Roger B. Taney
New York v. Miln
The Amistad
“Unless Prohibited By State Legislation”
Strader v. Graham
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Ableman v. Booth
Unintended Consequences
Slavery and Racism in Context
Part II: Politics During the Civil War Years
5. Let Us Cross Over the River
The Secession Movement in South Carolina
The Crittenden Compromise
The Struggle Toward Secession
Virginia’s Debate
Lincoln’s Policies in 1861
The Rise of the Copperheads
Controversy About Secession and Slavery
Suspension of Habeas Corpus
Copperhead Editorials on Slavery
6. The Age of the Copperheads, 1862–1863
The Evolution of a Struggle: 1862
Copperhead Racism in the North
Lincoln’s Decision: The Emancipation Proclamation
Copperhead Reaction
The Copperhead Response
The Intellectual Arm of the Copperheads
Pro-Lincoln Responses
The Enrollment Act
Growing Copperhead Strength
A Change in Sentiment
7. Copperhead Resistance, 1864–1865
Possible Replacement Candidates for Lincoln
Southern Economic Problems in 1864
The Party Platforms
Conspiracy in 1864 by Copperhead Groups
Confederate Efforts at Negotiating Peace
The Political Climate in 1864
Political Responses to Lincoln’s Victory
Post-Election Conditions and the Thirteenth Amendment
Part III: Politics During Reconstruction
8. Parties in Conflict—The Johnson Administration
Andrew Johnson and the Post-War Era
The New Administration and the South
The Freedmen’s Bureau Bill
Black Codes in 1865 and 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
Johnson’s Loyalty to the Democrats
Concerns Among Democrats
The Election of 1868
9. Presidents Grant and Hayes and the Ku Klux Klan
President Grant’s Election
Origins of Secret Societies in the U.S.
The Klan’s Purpose Evolves
The Klan As an Underground Terrorist Organization
Grant’s Second Administration
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
