THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR: A NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS by DIANNE M. BRAGG WM. DAVID SLOAN, COMMITTEE CHAIR GEORGE RABLE MEG LAMME KARLA K. GOWER CHRIS ROBERTS A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Communication and Information Sciences in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2013 Copyright Dianne Marie Bragg 2013 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT This dissertation examines antebellum newspaper content in an attempt to add to the historical understanding of the causes of the Civil War. Numerous historians have studied the Civil War and its causes, but this study will use only newspapers to examine what they can show about the causes that eventually led the country to war. Newspapers have long chronicled events in American history, and they offer valuable information about the issues and concerns of their communities. This study begins with an overview of the newspaper coverage of the tariff and territorial issues that began to divide the country in the early decades of the 1800s. The study then moves from the Wilmot Proviso in 1846 to Lincoln’s election in 1860, a period in which sectionalism and disunion increasingly appeared on newspaper pages and the lines of disagreement between the North and the South hardened. The primary sources used in this study were a diverse sampling of articles from newspapers around the country and includes representation from both southern and northern newspapers. Studying these antebellum newspapers offers insight into the political, social, and economic concerns of the day, which can give an indication of how the sectional differences in these areas became so divisive. This study shows what issues became such insurmountable problems for the nation that Americans finally reached a point where it seemed the only solution was going to war. ii DEDICATION For Jessie Fowler You are an inspiration. Thank you for your graciousness, hospitality, love, and pie. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply indebted to the members of my dissertation committee: Wm. David Sloan, George Rable, Margot Lamme, Karla Gower, and Chris Roberts. They have supported and encouraged me every step of the way. I remain in awe of their vast knowledge and expertise, and I can only hope to live up to the example they have set for me. I also hope Dr. Sloan has been able to recover from my affinity for commas. I owe special thanks to the University of Alabama Department of Journalism. The faculty and staff of that department, especially Jennifer Greer, have been beside me every step of the way and for their optimism, encouragement, and patience, I will always be grateful. To so many people in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, I want to express my gratitude. To Dean Loy Singleton, who always had an open door, thank you for your patience, understanding, and support. To Diane Shaddix, who always had answers for my questions and ensured that everything went smoothly in the process of completing this project. A special thanks goes to Jennings Bryant who welcomed me to Alabama, made me feel at home, and set an example for so many students who have walked these halls. And, to so many other people here who make this place a wonderful, caring place to work, thank you. I am also grateful for the University of Alabama Graduate School’s support, in particular Dean David Francko and Associate Dean John Schmitt. I will never forget how your encouragement, professionalism, and guidance were there for me when I needed it most. iv A special thanks goes to my own personal cheerleading squad: Ann Bourne, Crechale Stevens, Alexa Chilcutt, and Cecilia Hammond. You always had faith, love, and hope, and I can never repay you for all you have done for me, especially during some dark days. To so many other friends who loved and supported me through this, thank you. I also want to thank my friends and former colleagues at the University of Memphis, who first set me on this path, especially Dan Lattimore and Elinor Grusin, who gave me a chance and helped me believe in myself. And, to Bill Brody who first told me I should pursue my doctorate. It was also at Memphis that I met Dana Rosengard, who made me laugh and saw me through on the third floor of Meeman. You all hold such a special place in my heart. I owe the University of Memphis so much for opening doors for me that I never would have dreamed possible. For my family and friends in so many places, thank you for sharing your lives with me. Each of you has brought something special to my life, and you have been a constant source of inspiration and support. For my neighbors in Glendale Gardens, thank you for welcoming me into your lives and your homes and for showing me what it really means to be part of a community. Your courage and unfailing optimism in the face of disaster will forever remain a guidepost for me. I especially want to thank Elizabeth Brannon and Beverly Smith for the coffee, conversation, prayers, and love. So many mornings you made it possible for me to face the new day, and your constant encouragement will always be an example for me. I also want to thank my three sons, Joshua, Caleb, and Jake. Each of you has brought something special to my life, and I cannot imagine what I would have done without you. I love you and am so proud of each one of you. And, for my husband, Rick, who came into my life and made me believe anything was possible. There are not enough words to say how much I love you and how grateful I am to have ever found you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 II TARIFFS AND TERRITORIES: 1816 to 1846 ....................................................29 III TERRRITORIAL EXPANSION AND THE SLAVERY QUESTION ................58 IV 1850: COMPROMISE OR CALAMITY ..............................................................99 V THE FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT: THE GREAT DIVIDE .........................................................................................143 VI THE ABOLITIONIST AGITATION: JOHN BROWN AND UNCLE TOM’S CABIN.................................................174 VII DISUNION: THE ROAD TO LINCOLN’S ELECTION, 1856 TO 1860 ...............................214 VIII CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................259 REFERENCES ...........................................................................................................................272 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION “Why Do We Go to War?” the headline in North Carolina’s Fayetteville Observer asked its readers in May 1861, just a few weeks after the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Questions about disunion and the threat of war had dominated America’s public discourse for quite some time, but South Carolina’s secession in December 1860, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, had led to an even greater sense of urgency about the country’s future and the very real possibility of war.1 The question now was how had the United States become a country so divided that dissolution was at hand? Almost from the moment General Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops at Appomattox, historians have studied the question of what brought about the American Civil War. Although 1 Charles B. Dew, Apostles of Disunion: Southern Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2001); John W. Burgess, “Secession,” in The Civil War and the Constitution, 1859-1865 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1901), 74-137. For more on South Carolina and its antebellum history, see: Drew Gilpin Faust, James Henry Hammond and the Old South: A Design for Mastery (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1985); Stephanie McCurry, Masters of Small Worlds: Yeoman Households, Gender Relations, and the Political Culture of the Antebellum South Carolina Low Country (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995); Bruce Collins, The Origins of America’s Civil War (New York: Homes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 1981), 46-47, 100, 122-123, 143-145; William W. Freehling, The Road to Disunion, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990); “A Declaration of the Causes which Induced the Secession of South Carolina,” in The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, Etc., ed. Frank Moore (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1867), 3-4; and Erika Pribanic-Smith, “Sowing the Seeds of Disunion: South Carolina’s Partisan Newspapers and the Nullification Crisis, 1828-1833” (PhD diss., University of Alabama, 2010). In ProQuest Dissertations and Theses at The University of Alabama, http://search.proquest.com/pqdtlocal1006262/docview/757699097/13747BA4C54435FCA10/1? accountid=14472. 1 they have arrived at a variety of answers, questions still remain. Through an examination of antebellum newspaper content, this dissertation will attempt to add to the historical understanding of the causes of the Civil War. In April 1861, Americans understood that the