City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 6-2016 Neither a Slave nor a King: The Antislavery Project and the Origins of the American Sectional Crisis, 1820-1848 Joseph T. Murphy Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1242 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] NEITHER A SLAVE NOR A KING: THE ANTISLAVERY PROJECT AND THE ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN SECTIONAL CRISIS, 1820-1848 by JOSEPH T. MURPHY A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2016 i © 2016 JOSEPH T. MURPHY All Rights Reserved ii Neither a Slave nor a King: The Antislavery Project and the Origins of the American Sectional Crisis, 1820-1848 by Joseph T. Murphy This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date James Oakes Chair of Examining Committee Date Andrew W. Robertson Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: David Waldstreicher Andrew Robertson Eric Foner Richard B. Bernstein THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Neither a Slave nor a King: The Antislavery Project and the Origins of the American Sectional Crisis, 1820-1848 Advisor: James Oakes “Neither a Slave nor a King” intervenes in the scholarly debate over the “antislavery origins” of the sectional crisis in antebellum America – how the rise of a northern antislavery movement escalated the sectional tensions that led to southern secession and the Civil War.