Bleeding Kansas

Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era

Häftad, Engelska, 2004

509 kr

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Few people would have expected bloodshed in Kansas Territory. After all, it had few slaves and showed few signs that slavery would even flourish. But civil war tore this territory apart in the 1850s and 60s, and "Bleeding Kansas" became a forbidding symbol for the nationwide clash over slavery that followed.Many free-state Kansans seemed to care little about slaves, and many proslavery Kansans owned not a single slave. But the failed promise of the Kansas-Nebraska Act-when fraud in local elections subverted the settlers' right to choose whether Kansas would be a slave or free state-fanned the flames of war. While other writers have cited slavery or economics as the cause of unrest, Nicole Etcheson seeks to revise our understanding of this era by focusing on whites' concerns over their political liberties. The first comprehensive account of "Bleeding Kansas" in more than thirty years, her study re-examines the debate over slavery expansion to emphasize issues of popular sovereignty rather than slavery's moral or economic dimensions.The free-state movement was a coalition of settlers who favored black rights and others who wanted the territory only for whites, but all were united by the conviction that their political rights were violated by nonresident voting and by Democratic presidents' heavy-handed administration of the territories. Etcheson argues that participants on both sides of the Kansas conflict believed they fought to preserve the liberties secured by the American Revolution and that violence erupted because each side feared the loss of meaningful self-governance.Bleeding Kansas is a gripping account of events and people-rabble-rousing Jim Lane, zealot John Brown, Sheriff Sam Jones, and others-that examines the social milieu of the settlers along with the political ideas they developed. Covering the period from the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act to the 1879 Exoduster Migration, it traces the complex interactions among groups inside and outside the territory, creating a comprehensive political, social, and intellectual history of this tumultuous period in the state's history.As Etcheson demonstrates, the struggle over the political liberties of whites may have heightened the turmoil but led eventually to a broadening of the definition of freedom to include blacks. Her insightful re-examination sheds new light on this era and is essential reading for anyone interested in the ideological origins of the Civil War.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2004-01-29
Mått153 x 230 x 20 mm
Vikt515 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor370
FörlagUniversity Press of Kansas
ISBN9780700614929

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Makes a significant contribution to the historiography of the 1850s.... Will be a necessary starting point from now on for anyone seeking to learn what 'bleeding Kansas' was about and why it mattered. - Journal of American History ""Well written, phenomenally well researched, and a wonderful addition to the scholarship of this important period.... Highly recommended for anyone interested in the crucial role of Kansas in shaping the sectional ideologies that would lead eventually to Civil War."" - North & South ""Etcheson breaks new ground and demonstrates that the violence of Bleeding Kansas forced free soilers to examine their own racial biases. The result was a significant ideological transformation.... Her book skillfully recreates this important egalitarian moment."" - Western Historical Quarterly ""A thoughtful and well-written addition to the scholarship of Kansas and the coming of the Civil War. The book deserves a wide readership."" - Missouri Historical Review ""A lively political history highly recommended for all libraries with collections in U.S. history."" - Choice