The Imperiled Union: Essays on the Background of the Civil WarA collection of essays by a master historian. Amongst the subjects that Stampp tackles are the inevitability of the Civil War and the truth about why the confederacy actually died. The other essays are a mix of historiography and analysis of issues including Lincoln's role in reinforcing Fort Sumter, the impact of psychology in trading slaves, and the role of racism in the Republican Party. |
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Page 7
... North Carolina asserted that the failure of several states to comply with the requisi- tions of Congress meant that the " Articles of Confederation • • are no longer binding . " 15 John Jay contended THE CONCEPT OF A PERPETUAL UNION 7.
... North Carolina asserted that the failure of several states to comply with the requisi- tions of Congress meant that the " Articles of Confederation • • are no longer binding . " 15 John Jay contended THE CONCEPT OF A PERPETUAL UNION 7.
Page 8
... John Jay contended that no Union in fact existed and that none would exist until the Constitution was ratified . Meanwhile , the states were not only without money or credit but also " without Union , without Gov- ernment . " 16 ...
... John Jay contended that no Union in fact existed and that none would exist until the Constitution was ratified . Meanwhile , the states were not only without money or credit but also " without Union , without Gov- ernment . " 16 ...
Page 15
... John Dick- inson of Delaware that the Union would be " a confederacy of republics . . . in which , the sovereignty of each state was equally represented , " was by no means uncommon.42 In their formal resolutions of ratification , the ...
... John Dick- inson of Delaware that the Union would be " a confederacy of republics . . . in which , the sovereignty of each state was equally represented , " was by no means uncommon.42 In their formal resolutions of ratification , the ...
Page 18
... John Smilie of Pennsylvania that if the people changed their minds , " they will still have a right to assemble another body ... to abrogate this Federal work so rati- fied . " 53 More commonly , they spoke of ratification as a bind ...
... John Smilie of Pennsylvania that if the people changed their minds , " they will still have a right to assemble another body ... to abrogate this Federal work so rati- fied . " 53 More commonly , they spoke of ratification as a bind ...
Page 20
... John Randolph when he declared in 1814 that the Union was " the means of securing the safety , liberty , and welfare of the confederacy and not itself an end to which these should be sacrificed . " 61 Appar- ently almost everyone , even ...
... John Randolph when he declared in 1814 that the Union was " the means of securing the safety , liberty , and welfare of the confederacy and not itself an end to which these should be sacrificed . " 61 Appar- ently almost everyone , even ...
Contents
3 | |
The Search for | 39 |
A Humanistic Perspective | 72 |
Race Slavery and the Republican Party | 105 |
The Republican National Convention of 1860 | 136 |
Lincoln and the Secession Crisis | 163 |
The Irrepressible Conflict | 191 |
The Southern Road to Appomattox | 246 |
Notes | 271 |
Index | 309 |
Other editions - View all
The Imperiled Union: Essays on the Background of the Civil War Kenneth M. Stampp Limited preview - 1981 |
The Imperiled Union: Essays on the Background of the Civil War Kenneth M. Stampp Limited preview - 1981 |
Common terms and phrases
abolitionism abolitionists Abraham Lincoln American antebellum antislavery argued argument Articles of Confederation asserted Basler behavior believed Caucuses of 1860 cause Civil claimed cliometrics compromise Confederacy Confederate Congress Constitution convention Craven critics cultural David debates defeat delegates Democrats disunion Douglas economic Elkins equal Eric Foner essay evidence explain fact Federalist Fogel and Engerman Foner force Fort Sumter Genovese Halstead historians Ibid institution interpretation irrepressible conflict issue laws legislatures masters ment moral nationalists Negro never North northern Old South peaceful perpetual Union personality Philadelphia Convention plantation slaves political politicians Potter President problem proslavery question race racial racist Ramsdell Randall ratification Republican party revisionism revisionist role Sambo secede secession Secession Crisis secessionists sectional conflict Seward significant slave labor Slave Power slaveholders slavery expansion social sources South Carolina southern slaves sovereignty suggested Sumter Thurlow Weed tion tional traditional United Vann Woodward vols white supremacy wrote York
Popular passages
Page 133 - That is the issue that will continue in this country, when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles— right and wrong— throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity, and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same...
Page 128 - I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races...
Page 176 - In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend it.
Page 5 - Descending from these general principles, we find the proposition that in legal contemplation the Union is perpetual, confirmed by the history of the Union itself. The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774.
Page 253 - Its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth. that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.
Page 28 - That the United States form, for many, and for most important purposes, a single nation, has not yet been denied. In war, we are one people. In making peace, we are one people. In all commercial regulations, we are one and the same people. In many other respects, the American people are one; and the government which is alone capable of controlling and managing their interests, in all these respects, is the government of the Union.
Page 12 - I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments. It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination.
Page 29 - America has chosen to be, in many respects, and to many purposes, a nation ; and for all these purposes her government is complete ; to all these objects it is competent.
Page 15 - Virginia declare and make known that the powers granted under the Constitution being derived from the People of the United States may be resumed by them whensoever the same shall be perverted to their injury or oppression...