Description
Book SynopsisSlavery and Sectional Strife in the Early American Republic, 17761821 focuses on slavery as a moral and political issue that threatened the unity and stability of the United States from the nation''s inception. In tracing the story of slavery in America''s history from 1776 through the Missouri Compromise, Gary J. Kornblith highlights a number of important themes: the general acceptance of slavery in colonial America, the reevaluation of human bondage during the American Revolution, how decisions made by the Founding Fathers shaped the future of slavery in the new United States, and whether the Civil War was the inevitable result of those decisions. Students are encouraged to reach their own conclusions through reading key primary documents.
Trade ReviewBecause Gary Kornblith's new book combines a short, informed narrative with unusually well chosen documents, it comprises an excellent choice for undergraduate assignments on the crucial first phase of the U.S. slavery controversy. -- William W. Freehling, author of The Road to Disunion
Gary Kornblith's wonderful new book provides an invaluable survey of the documents and debates that shaped antislavery discussion in the early republic. Teachers will love Kornblith's wide selection of primary sources while even academic specialists will learn from his wise and judicious introductions. A terrific addition to the scholarly resources now available on slavery and politics in early national society. -- Richard S. Newman, author of Freedom's Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers
Kornblith's concise narrative is a perfect introduction to a set of documents that will allow my students the opportunity to debate the issue of slavery as a cancer that ate away at the fiber of the American nation. A much needed undergraduate text. -- Gary A. DiNallo, Southern Connecticut State University
Informed by decades of scholarship and teaching, Gary Kornblith presents a sorely needed collection of documents on the politics of slavery and antislavery in the era of the American Revolution and the Early Republic. Opening with an introduction that will stand for years as the best short analysis of the subject, Kornblith's judiciously assembled documents will enliven both teaching and research on one of our nation's most perplexing historical problems. -- John L. Brooke, Ohio State University
Table of ContentsSection I: Slavery and Sectional Strife in the Early American Republic, 1776–1821: A Critical Narrative Chapter 1: The Rise of Slavery in Colonial British America Chapter 2: Imperial Crisis, Independence, and the Reevaluation of Slavery Chapter 3: Revolutionary Outcomes: Early Abolition and its Limitations Chapter 4: Slavery, Sectionalism, and the Federal Constitution Chapter 5: A More Perfect Union? The Problems of Slavery and Sectionalism in the Redesigned Republic Chapter 6: The War of 1812 and Era of Good Feelings Chapter 7: The Missouri Crisis Section II: Primary Documents Chapter 8: Controversy Over Slavery on the Eve of Revolution Chapter 9: The Spirit of 1776 Chapter 10: The Challenge to Slavery at the State Level Chapter 11: The Spirit of 1787 Chapter 12: The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Federalism Chapter 13: Federal Action against the Atlantic Slave Trade Chapter 14: Proposals for the Colonization of Free Blacks Chapter 15: The Missouri Crisis
