DOCSLIB.ORG

The Border South and the Secession Crisis, 1859-1861 Michael Dudley Robinson Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Border South and the Secession Crisis, 1859-1861 Michael Dudley Robinson Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2013 Fulcrum of the Union: The Border South and the Secession Crisis, 1859-1861 Michael Dudley Robinson Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Robinson, Michael Dudley, "Fulcrum of the Union: The Border South and the Secession Crisis, 1859-1861" (2013). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 894. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/894 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. FULCRUM OF THE UNION: THE BORDER SOUTH AND THE SECESSION CRISIS, 1859- 1861 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Michael Dudley Robinson B.S. North Carolina State University, 2001 M.A. University of North Carolina – Wilmington, 2007 May 2013 For Katherine ii Acknowledgements Throughout the long process of turning a few preliminary thoughts about the secession crisis and the Border South into a finished product, many people have provided assistance, encouragement, and inspiration. The staffs at several libraries and archives helped me to locate items and offered suggestions about collections that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. I would especially like to thank Lucas R. Clawson of the Hagley Museum and Library and Michael R. Veach of the Filson Historical Society, each of whom possesses not only an unparalleled knowledge of the collections in their archives, but also a gracious demeanor and willingness to share their expertise with researchers. Several archives provided financial assistance in the form of fellowships or research grants which allowed for extended research trips. For facilitating those visits I thank A. Glenn Crothers of the Filson Historical Society; Rena Schergen of the Special Collections Center of the University of Chicago Library; and Roger Horowitz and Carol Lockman of the Hagley Museum and Library. I am enormously grateful to the Department of History at Louisiana State University for awarding me with a T. Harry Williams Fellowship, which significantly assisted in the completion of the manuscript. I have had the good fortune of receiving the tutelage of several outstanding professors during my time in graduate school. Chris E. Fonvielle of the University of North Carolina – Wilmington first guided me through the not always placid waters of graduate school and remains a close friend. At Louisiana State University, Gaines Foster continually amazed me with his ability to balance the immensely time-consuming jobs of department chair and later college dean with careful attention to the individual graduate students with whom he works. He always made time in his extremely busy schedule to offer assistance and guidance, and his vast knowledge of American history is matched by his thoughtfulness and kindness. Paul F. Paskoff took an iii interest in this project from its inception and has provided incalculable guidance, support, and good humor. His admonition to “show me the evidence” prodded me to venture from the comfortable grounds of qualitative source material and has unquestionably benefitted the final outcome, while his rigorous attention to detail has helped me to sharpen my thoughts about the past. John Pizer read the entire manuscript with a careful eye, and the final manuscript benefitted from his suggestions and comments. My greatest scholastic debt is owed to William J. Cooper, who directed this dissertation from its origins in my first research seminar at LSU. Professor Cooper served as a shining example of the gentleman scholar: he kindly funded several research trips; offered sage advice about teaching, studying, and writing about the past; meticulously read the manuscript, pointed out areas for improvement, and guided the project to its completion with great care. Most importantly, he provided unceasing encouragement during my years at LSU. His stamp has been left indelibly upon my approach to studying the past, and I thank him for his generosity, instruction, and tutelage. My family and friends have provided a foundation of reassurance and motivation throughout the long slog of graduate school. My parents, Dudley and Rosalin Robinson, instilled in me a love for learning at a young age and have supported me without reservation during my time in North Carolina and Louisiana. They, along with my sister, Heather Price, have sustained me in more ways than they will ever know; I can only hope to emulate their sterling examples of affection, love, and stewardship in the future. My in-laws, Reverend Jack Sawyer and Carolyn Sawyer, have welcomed me into their family as one of their own and offered spiritual, intellectual, and material support, for which I am most thankful. iv Several friends in North Carolina have often wondered how one could stay in school so long, yet have always upheld my decision. The families of Bryce Abernethy, Steve Bagley, Joe Blackwood, Joe Browning, Phil Daye, Charlie Dickerson, Jonathan Garrett, Danny Hunt, Chris Owens, and Charles Ross have provided their share of laughs and good times along life’s road. The fond memory of bygone days spent with those friends has often sustained this transplanted Carolinian. At LSU, several friends have educated me a great deal about history and life. Nathan Buman and Adam Pratt both have been excellent graduate school companions and taught me the many benefits of collegiality, camaraderie, and service. Chris Childers, Geoff Cunningham, Katie Eskridge, Alan Forrester, Michael Frawley, Aaron Horton, David Lilly, Spencer McBride, Blake Renfro, Kate Seyfried, Terry Wagner, Andrew Wegmann, and Jason Wolfe provided a welcome counterbalance to the seriousness of graduate school while in Baton Rouge. Finally, there is Katherine, the greatest source of inspiration in my life and to whom this dissertation is dedicated. I arrived in Louisiana in search of professional training and along the way found the key to my existence. We came to LSU as peers in graduate school, became fast friends, and now leave as husband and wife. Over the last few years she has been a constant source of love, laughter, encouragement, enlightenment, and strength, and I look forward to life’s journey with her by my side. I am grateful to all the people who helped make this dissertation possible, but the work herein is my own and I accept full responsibility for any of its shortcomings or deficiencies. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... vii vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Maps .....................................................................................................................................x Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... xi Introduction – “Where Is The Great Statesman?”: Henry Clay’s Republic ....................................1 Chapter 1 “A Representation of Almost Every Interest and Pursuit in the Union”: The Border South on the Eve of the Secession Crisis ...........................................................................21 2 “We Are Approaching a Crisis Pregnant with Immense & Momentous Results”: The Long Shadow of John Brown’s Raid, October 1859 – April 1860 ....................................62 3 “The Wolf Is Really Upon Us Now”: The Presidential Canvass, April – November 1860..................................................................................................................................105 4 “What Ought Patriots To Do?”: The Unionist Offensive in the Border South, November 1860 – Mid-January 1861 ..............................................................................156 5 “Compromise May Restore the Union, But the Sword Can Never Preserve It”: The Unionist Offensive Endures, Mid-January – March 1861 ...............................................223 6 “If We Can’t Go With the South Let Us Quit the North”: The Muddled Career of Border South Neutrality, April – September 1861 ..........................................................291 Conclusion – “Pursued to the Last Extremity”: Henry Winter Davis’s Republic .......................371 Appendix – The Secessionists of the Border South .....................................................................383 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................392 Vita ...............................................................................................................................................421 vi List of Tables Table 1: Largest Cities in the Border South, Lower North, and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Popular Sovereignty, Slavery in the Territories, and the South, 1785-1860
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2010 Popular sovereignty, slavery in the territories, and the South, 1785-1860 Robert Christopher Childers Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Childers, Robert Christopher, "Popular sovereignty, slavery in the territories, and the South, 1785-1860" (2010). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1135. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1135 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY, SLAVERY IN THE TERRITORIES, AND THE SOUTH, 1785-1860 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Robert Christopher Childers B.S., B.S.E., Emporia State University, 2002 M.A., Emporia State University, 2004 May 2010 For my wife ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing history might seem a solitary task, but in truth it is a collaborative effort. Throughout my experience working on this project, I have engaged with fellow scholars whose help has made my work possible. Numerous archivists aided me in the search for sources. Working in the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gave me access to the letters and writings of southern leaders and common people alike.
    [Show full text]
  • Lyman Trumbull: Author of the Thirteenth Amendment, Author of the Civil Rights Act, and the First Second Amendment Lawyer
    KOPEL (1117–1192).DOCX (DO NOT DELETE) 5/2/16 4:20 PM Lyman Trumbull: Author of the Thirteenth Amendment, Author of the Civil Rights Act, and the First Second Amendment Lawyer David B. Kopel* This Article provides the first legal biography of lawyer and Senator Lyman Trumbull, one of the most important lawyers and politicians of the nineteenth century. Early in his career, as the leading anti-slavery lawyer in Illinois in the 1830s, he won the cases constricting and then abolishing slavery in that state; six decades later, Trumbull represented imprisoned labor leader Eugene Debs in the Supreme Court, and wrote the Populist Party platform. In between, Trumbull helped found the Republican Party, and served three U.S. Senate terms, chairing the judiciary committee. One of the greatest leaders of America’s “Second Founding,” Trumbull wrote the Thirteenth Amendment, the Civil Rights Act, and the Freedmen’s Bureau Act. The latter two were expressly intended to protect the Second Amendment rights of former slaves. Another Trumbull law, the Second Confiscation Act, was the first federal statute to providing for arming freedmen. After leaving the Senate, Trumbull continued his fight for arms rights for workingmen, bringing Presser v. Illinois to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1886, and Dunne v. Illinois to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1879. His 1894 Populist Party platform was a fiery affirmation of Second Amendment principles. In the decades following the end of President James Madison’s Administration in 1817, no American lawyer or legislator did as much as Trumbull in defense of Second Amendment.
    [Show full text]
  • The Revolutionary Movement in New York, 1773–1777
    University of Kentucky UKnowledge United States History History 1966 The Road to Independence: The Revolutionary Movement in New York, 1773–1777 Bernard Mason State University of New York at Binghamton Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Mason, Bernard, "The Road to Independence: The Revolutionary Movement in New York, 1773–1777" (1966). United States History. 66. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_united_states_history/66 The 'l(qpd to Independence This page intentionally left blank THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE The 'R!_,volutionary ~ovement in :J{£w rork, 1773-1777~ By BERNARD MASON University of Kentucky Press-Lexington 1966 Copyright © 1967 UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY PRESS) LEXINGTON FoR PERMISSION to quote material from the books noted below, the author is grateful to these publishers: Charles Scribner's Sons, for Father Knickerbocker Rebels by Thomas J. Wertenbaker. Copyright 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., for John Jay by Frank Monaghan. Copyright 1935 by the Bobbs-Merrill Com­ pany, Inc., renewed 1962 by Frank Monaghan. The Regents of the University of Wisconsin, for The History of Political Parties in the Province of New York J 17 60- 1776) by Carl L. Becker, published by the University of Wisconsin Press. Copyright 1909 by the Regents of the University of Wisconsin.
    [Show full text]
  • William Preston and the Revolutionary Settlement
    Journal of Backcountry Studies EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third and last installment of the author’s 1990 University of Maryland dissertation, directed by Professor Emory Evans, to be republished in JBS. Dr. Osborn is President of Pacific Union College. William Preston and the Revolutionary Settlement BY RICHARD OSBORN Patriot (1775-1778) Revolutions ultimately conclude with a large scale resolution in the major political, social, and economic issues raised by the upheaval. During the final two years of the American Revolution, William Preston struggled to anticipate and participate in the emerging American regime. For Preston, the American Revolution involved two challenges--Indians and Loyalists. The outcome of his struggles with both groups would help determine the results of the Revolution in Virginia. If Preston could keep the various Indian tribes subdued with minimal help from the rest of Virginia, then more Virginians would be free to join the American armies fighting the English. But if he was unsuccessful, Virginia would have to divert resources and manpower away from the broader colonial effort to its own protection. The other challenge represented an internal one. A large number of Loyalist neighbors continually tested Preston's abilities to forge a unified government on the frontier which could, in turn, challenge the Indians effectivel y and the British, if they brought the war to Virginia. In these struggles, he even had to prove he was a Patriot. Preston clearly placed his allegiance with the revolutionary movement when he joined with other freeholders from Fincastle County on January 20, 1775 to organize their local county committee in response to requests by the Continental Congress that such committees be established.
    [Show full text]
  • 1835. EXECUTIVE. *L POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT
    1835. EXECUTIVE. *l POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT. Persons employed in the General Post Office, with the annual compensation of each. Where Compen­ Names. Offices. Born. sation. Dol. cts. Amos Kendall..., Postmaster General.... Mass. 6000 00 Charles K. Gardner Ass't P. M. Gen. 1st Div. N. Jersey250 0 00 SelahR. Hobbie.. Ass't P. M. Gen. 2d Div. N. York. 2500 00 P. S. Loughborough Chief Clerk Kentucky 1700 00 Robert Johnson. ., Accountant, 3d Division Penn 1400 00 CLERKS. Thomas B. Dyer... Principal Book Keeper Maryland 1400 00 Joseph W. Hand... Solicitor Conn 1400 00 John Suter Principal Pay Clerk. Maryland 1400 00 John McLeod Register's Office Scotland. 1200 00 William G. Eliot.. .Chie f Examiner Mass 1200 00 Michael T. Simpson Sup't Dead Letter OfficePen n 1200 00 David Saunders Chief Register Virginia.. 1200 00 Arthur Nelson Principal Clerk, N. Div.Marylan d 1200 00 Richard Dement Second Book Keeper.. do.. 1200 00 Josiah F.Caldwell.. Register's Office N. Jersey 1200 00 George L. Douglass Principal Clerk, S. Div.Kentucky -1200 00 Nicholas Tastet Bank Accountant Spain. 1200 00 Thomas Arbuckle.. Register's Office Ireland 1100 00 Samuel Fitzhugh.., do Maryland 1000 00 Wm. C,Lipscomb. do : for) Virginia. 1000 00 Thos. B. Addison. f Record Clerk con-> Maryland 1000 00 < routes and v....) Matthias Ross f. tracts, N. Div, N. Jersey1000 00 David Koones Dead Letter Office Maryland 1000 00 Presley Simpson... Examiner's Office Virginia- 1000 00 Grafton D. Hanson. Solicitor's Office.. Maryland 1000 00 Walter D. Addison. Recorder, Div. of Acc'ts do..
    [Show full text]
  • The Free State of Winston"
    University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 2019 Rebel Rebels: Race, Resistance, and Remembrance in "The Free State of Winston" Susan Neelly Deily-Swearingen University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Deily-Swearingen, Susan Neelly, "Rebel Rebels: Race, Resistance, and Remembrance in "The Free State of Winston"" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations. 2444. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2444 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REBEL REBELS: RACE, RESISTANCE, AND REMEMBRANCE IN THE FREE STATE OF WINSTON BY SUSAN NEELLY DEILY-SWEARINGEN B.A., Brandeis University M.A., Brown University M.A., University of New Hampshire DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History May 2019 This dissertation has been examined and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in History by: Dissertation Director, J. William Harris, Professor of History Jason Sokol, Professor of History Cynthia Van Zandt, Associate Professor of History and History Graduate Program Director Gregory McMahon, Professor of Classics Victoria E. Bynum, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History, Texas State University, San Marcos On April 18, 2019 Original approval signatures are on file with the University of New Hampshire Graduate School.
    [Show full text]
  • Civil War in the Delta: Environment, Race, and the 1863 Helena Campaign George David Schieffler University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
    University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 8-2017 Civil War in the Delta: Environment, Race, and the 1863 Helena Campaign George David Schieffler University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Schieffler, George David, "Civil War in the Delta: Environment, Race, and the 1863 Helena Campaign" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 2426. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2426 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Civil War in the Delta: Environment, Race, and the 1863 Helena Campaign A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History by George David Schieffler The University of the South Bachelor of Arts in History, 2003 University of Arkansas Master of Arts in History, 2005 August 2017 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. ____________________________________ Dr. Daniel E. Sutherland Dissertation Director ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Dr. Elliott West Dr. Patrick G. Williams Committee Member Committee Member Abstract “Civil War in the Delta” describes how the American Civil War came to Helena, Arkansas, and its Phillips County environs, and how its people—black and white, male and female, rich and poor, free and enslaved, soldier and civilian—lived that conflict from the spring of 1861 to the summer of 1863, when Union soldiers repelled a Confederate assault on the town.
    [Show full text]
  • Hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment
    Written Statement of Elizabeth Price Foley Professor of Law Florida International University College of Law Hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment Committee on the Judiciary U.S. House of Representatives April 30, 2019 Chairman Nadler, Ranking Member Collins, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the procedures for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment ("ERA"). I am a tenured, full Professor of Law at Florida International University College of Law, a public law school located in Miami, where I teach constitutional law. I also serve Of Counsel with the Washington, D.C. office of BakerHostetler, LLP, where I practice constitutional and appellate law. I. Background on Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment An Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed in 1921 but did not receive approval of the requisite two-thirds supermajority of the House and Senate until March 22, 1972. The text of the proposed amendment reads as follows: Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.1 The Joint Resolution proposing the ERA contained a preamble limiting the allowed period of ratification to seven years: Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress.2 The seven-year ratification period expired on March 22, 1979.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Cincinnati
    UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:_December 13, 2006_ I, James Michael Rhyne______________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy in: History It is entitled: Rehearsal for Redemption: The Politics of Post-Emancipation Violence in Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _Wayne K. Durrill_____________ _Christopher Phillips_________ _Wendy Kline__________________ _Linda Przybyszewski__________ Rehearsal for Redemption: The Politics of Post-Emancipation Violence in Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region A Dissertation submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in the Department of History of the College of Arts and Sciences 2006 By James Michael Rhyne M.A., Western Carolina University, 1997 M-Div., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1989 B.A., Wake Forest University, 1982 Committee Chair: Professor Wayne K. Durrill Abstract Rehearsal for Redemption: The Politics of Post-Emancipation Violence in Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region By James Michael Rhyne In the late antebellum period, changing economic and social realities fostered conflicts among Kentuckians as tension built over a number of issues, especially the future of slavery. Local clashes matured into widespread, violent confrontations during the Civil War, as an ugly guerrilla war raged through much of the state. Additionally, African Americans engaged in a wartime contest over the meaning of freedom. Nowhere were these interconnected conflicts more clearly evidenced than in the Bluegrass Region. Though Kentucky had never seceded, the Freedmen’s Bureau established a branch in the Commonwealth after the war.
    [Show full text]
  • Selected Bibliography from the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
    SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY FROM THE REGISTER OF THE KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY War of 1812 Adams, Evelyn Grady. “The Imprisonment of British Officers in the Frankfort Penitentiary during the War of 1812.” 49 (1951): 231-33. Bolt, Robert, “Vice President Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky: Hero of the Thames–Or the Great Amalgamator.” 75 (1977): 191-203. Analysis of a major military and political figure who broke the conventions of race and family. Clift, G. Glen, ed. “War of 1812 Diary of William B. Northcutt.” 56 (1958):165-81, 253-70, 325- 44. “Correspondence between Governor Isaac Shelby and General William Henry Harrison during the War of 1812.” 20 (1922): 130-44. Eubank, James Taylor. “The Siege of Fort Meigs.”19 (1921): 54-62. Dated but representative interpretation of a major militia operation. Fredriksen, John C., ed. “Kentucky at the Thames, 1813: A Rediscovered Narrative by William Greathouse.” 83 (1985): 93-107. New insights on an influential battle. Hall, Ellery L. “Canadian Annexation Sentiment in Kentucky Prior to the War of 1812.” 28 (1930): 372-80. Perspective on a major Kentucky motive for war. Harris, James Russell. “Kentuckians in the War of 1812; A Note on Numbers, Losses, and Sources.” 82 (1984): 277-86. Analysis of the traditionally large numbers cited for Kentuckians in service and killed in action which finds them undocumented and questionable. Hay, Robert Pettus. “A Jubilee for Freeman: The Fourth of July in Frontier Kentucky, 1788- 1816.” 64 (1966): 169-95. Hickey, Donald R., ed. “A Dissenting Voice: Matthew Lyon on the Conquest of Canada.” 76 (1978): 45-52.
    [Show full text]
  • Antislavery Violence and Secession, October 1859
    ANTISLAVERY VIOLENCE AND SECESSION, OCTOBER 1859 – APRIL 1861 by DAVID JONATHAN WHITE GEORGE C. RABLE, COMMITTEE CHAIR LAWRENCE F. KOHL KARI FREDERICKSON HAROLD SELESKY DIANNE BRAGG A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2017 Copyright David Jonathan White 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the collapse of southern Unionism between October 1859 and April 1861. This study argues that a series of events of violent antislavery and southern perceptions of northern support for them caused white southerners to rethink the value of the Union and their place in it. John Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and northern expressions of personal support for Brown brought the Union into question in white southern eyes. White southerners were shocked when Republican governors in northern states acted to protect members of John Brown’s organization from prosecution in Virginia. Southern states invested large sums of money in their militia forces, and explored laws to control potentially dangerous populations such as northern travelling salesmen, whites “tampering” with slaves, and free African-Americans. Many Republicans endorsed a book by Hinton Rowan Helper which southerners believed encouraged antislavery violence and a Senate committee investigated whether an antislavery conspiracy had existed before Harpers Ferry. In the summer of 1860, a series of unexplained fires in Texas exacerbated white southern fear. As the presidential election approached in 1860, white southerners hoped for northern voters to repudiate the Republicans. When northern voters did not, white southerners generally rejected the Union.
    [Show full text]
  • Arkansas Moves Toward Secession and War
    RICE UNIVERSITY WITH HESITANT RESOLVE: ARKANSAS MOVES TOWARD SECESSION AND WAR BY JAMES WOODS A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS Dr.. Frank E. Vandiver Houston, Texas ABSTRACT This work surveys the history of ante-bellum Arkansas until the passage of the Ordinance of Secession on May 6, 186i. The first three chapters deal with the social, economic, and politicai development of the state prior to 1860. Arkansas experienced difficult, yet substantial .social and economic growth during the ame-belium era; its percentage of population increase outstripped five other frontier states in similar stages of development. Its growth was nevertheless hampered by the unsettling presence of the Indian territory on its western border, which helped to prolong a lawless stage. An unreliable transportation system and a ruinous banking policy also stalled Arkansas's economic progress. On the political scene a family dynasty controlled state politics from 1830 to 186u, a'situation without parallel throughout the ante-bellum South. A major part of this work concentrates upon Arkansas's politics from 1859 to 1861. In a most important siate election in 1860, the dynasty met defeat through an open revolt from within its ranks led by a shrewd and ambitious Congressman, Thomas Hindman. Hindman turned the contest into a class conflict, portraying the dynasty's leadership as "aristocrats" and "Bourbons." Because of Hindman's support, Arkansans chose its first governor not hand¬ picked by the dynasty. By this election the people handed gubernatorial power to an ineffectual political novice during a time oi great sectional crisis.
    [Show full text]