Political History Commons^™

Neither A Slave Nor A King: The Antislavery Project And The Origins Of The American Sectional Crisis, 1820-1848, Joseph T. Murphy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“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. There are two main strands of literature on the antislavery origins of the sectional crisis. The first, in which social and cultural historians are dominant, focuses on the rise of radical (or “immediate”) abolitionism in the 1830s, exploring its impact on North-South relations and antebellum reform generally. The other strand, written by political and legal historians, …

Commentary: 14th Amendment Laid Foundation Of Civil Liberties, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

They had just glued the world back together, and within a year it was threatening to come apart again.

That might sound like a description of the Arab Spring, or even the fall of the Soviet Union. In fact, it's what happened 150 years ago in the United States. [excerpt]

An Examination Of Abraham Lincoln's Racial Views, Christian Ellis

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Despite the overwhelming amount of writings that exist on the subject of Abraham Lincoln, there seems to be no clear consensus regarding what his personal views on race were. Depending on the work, Abraham Lincoln has been painted as either a color-blind Great Emancipator or a secret white supremacist who actively worked against the emancipation movement. With the recent debate over the Confederate flag and other race-related issues, the need to clarify the teachings on Lincoln has perhaps rarely been more relevant. This study examines his own writings, his public speeches, and the recollections of those who knew him best. …

Great Emancipator Was Radical Of His Day: Lincoln Opposed Economic Injustice, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

“If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong,” Abraham Lincoln said in 1864. “I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel.”

Yet there has always been doubt about just how great an emancipator he really was. Why did he wait for two years into his presidency to issue his Emancipation Proclamation? And why didn’t that Proclamation free all the 3.9 million African-Americans then held in bondage? [excerpt]

This Species Of Property: Slavery And The Properties Of Subjecthood In Anglo-American Law And Politics, 1619-1783, John N. Blanton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This Species of Property examines the development of the law and practice of slavery in the 17^th and 18^th century Anglo-American empire through analysis of common law court decisions in England, Massachusetts, and Virginia. The dissertation argues that there was a long and vibrant debate over the legitimacy of the chattel principle – the definition of enslaved persons as a type of property – and that enslaved people and their allies pushed for the recognition of the legal humanity or subjecthood of the enslaved in colonial and metropolitan courts. This antislavery legal tradition culminated in the famous Somerset …

Gettysburg College Journal Of The Civil War Era 2016

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

No abstract provided.