Description
Book SynopsisOne hundred and fifty years after Kansas was admitted to the Union, we still find ourselves fascinated by the specter of Bleeding Kansas and the violence that preceded the American Civil War by five years. Although ample attention has been devoted to understanding why territorial violence broke out in Kansas in 1856, of equal concern but less illuminated is the question of why government, both local and national, allowed the violence to continue unstanched for so long. This question is fundamentally about governance-its existence, exercise, limits, and continuance-and its study has ramifications for understanding both Kansas events and why the American experiment in government failed in 1861. In addition, the book also sheds light on the nature of democracy, the challenges of implanting it in distant environs, the necessity of cooperation at the various levels of government, and the value of strong leadership.
To Govern the Devil in Hell uses the prism of governa
Trade Review
Scholars who specialize in antebellum politics will find Ponce's monograph a treasure trove of useful data and considerable insight on the Kansas question.
* American Nineteenth Century History *
The author's balanced perspective and meticulous research make To Govern the Devil in Hell an authoritative account of Kansas politics in the mid-1850s and the ramifications of those territorial dynamics for the impending crisis of the Civil War.
* Canadian Journal of History *
Drawing on the current literature of politics and sectionalism in antebellum America, Ponce untangles the complex interactions between events inside and outside of Kansas Territory.
* Kansas History *
Ponce's single greatest insight in this book is the lack of a political solution to the crisis of expansionism and slavery and the ease of resorting to war. Recommended.
* Choice *
This well-researched book explains all the political intricacies that made territorial Kansas so volatile-and the political mismanagement that helped bring on the Civil War.
* The Journal of Southern History *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Jupiter's Gift: The Creation of Kansas Territory
2. Territorial Politics and the Struggle for party Supremacy, 1854–1855
3. Kansas in 1856: The Escalating Conflict
4. Congress and the Kansas Issue in 1856
5. The 1856 Presidential Campaign and Kansas as a Party Issue
6. Pledges and Principles: Buchanan, Walker, and Kansas in 1857
7. "The Noise of Democracy": The Struggle over the Lecompton Constitution in Congress and Kansas
Conclusion—"To the Stars through Difficulty"
Appendix A—Kansas-Nebraska Vote in the Senate (March 3, 1854)
Appendix B—Senate Results by Section and Party
Appendix C—Final Kansas-Nebraska Vote in the House (May 22, 1854)
Appendix D—House Results by Section and Party
Appnedix E—House Results by State
Appnedix F—Kansas Contested Delegate Election: Comparison of Vote to Oust Whitfield and to Seat Reader (August 4, 1856) with Vote to Authorize a Special Investigating Committee (March 19, 1856)
Notes
Bibliography
Index
