The Slave Power: Its Character, Career, and Probable Designs : Being an Attempt to Explain the Real Issues Involved in the American ContestAn early assessment of the contest between an economically defunct and politically aggressive Southern slave power and a liberal, free-wage-labor North The Slave Power, John E. Cairnes's seminal work on slavery, was widely acclaimed upon publication in 1862 as a brilliant attempt both to explain the essential cause of the American Civil War and to shape European policy concerning the struggle. It remains among the most important works on the political economy of Southern slavery. When Cairnes--one of the nineteenth century's preeminent classical liberal economists--characterized Southern slavery as inefficient and backward, his opinions carried enormous weight, earning him applause in the North and castigation in the slave- holding South. Casting the Civil War as a contest between an economically defunct and politically aggressive Southern slave power and a liberal, capitalist, free-wage-labor North, Cairnes offered an interpretation of the origins of the Civil War that has remained as compelling and controversial as it was when first published. Mark M. Smith's new introduction to the work places The Slave Power in historical context by explaining the intellectual milieu in which the book was written (including a treatment of classical liberal economic thought in Great Britain), the book's friendly reception in Union circles, and its rejection by war-torn Confederates. Smith also traces the book's reception by successive generations of historians of the slave South. |
Contents
IntroductoryThe Case Started | 1 |
Causes of War | 2 |
The popular view | 3 |
Its superficiality | 5 |
Slavery the central problem of American history | 6 |
The commericial theory | 10 |
how to be estimated | 15 |
Real cause of secession | 17 |
Acquisition of the Louisiana Territory | 210 |
Missouri claimed as a slave state | 212 |
Motives to territorial aggrandisement | 213 |
Importance of Missouri | 214 |
Opposition of the North | 215 |
The Seminole War | 216 |
Designs upon Texas | 218 |
The tactics of aggression | 219 |
The origin of the war obscured by its proximate occasion | 19 |
War the only arbitrament | 23 |
The Unionist sentiment | 25 |
The AntiSlavery sentiment | 27 |
Rapid growth of the AntiSlavery sentiment | 28 |
Present aspect of the question | 29 |
The Economic Basis of Slavery | 32 |
Different fortunes of slavery in the North and South | 33 |
Theory of climate and race | 35 |
The explanation of climate inadequate | 37 |
Alleged indolence of the negro groundless | 39 |
True solution of the problemEconomic | 43 |
Merits and defects of slave labour | 44 |
Merits and defects of free labour | 47 |
Comparative efficiency of slave and free labour | 48 |
Agricultural capabilities of North and South | 50 |
Slave and free products | 51 |
Further conditions essential to the success of slave labour | 52 |
Fertility of the soil | 53 |
Extent of territory | 54 |
Exhausting effects of slave culture | 56 |
In Brazil | 59 |
In the West Indies | 60 |
General conclusion | 62 |
Internal Organization of Slave Societies | 64 |
Economic success of slavery in what sense conceded | 65 |
Structure of a slave society moulded by its economic conditions | 69 |
Manufactures and commerce excluded | 70 |
Agriculturethe sole career for slavery | 73 |
Exigencies of slave agriculture | 74 |
Magnitude of plantations | 75 |
Unequal distribution of wealth | 76 |
Waste lands in slave countries | 77 |
Social consequences | 81 |
The mean whites | 82 |
Free industry in new countries compared with slave industry | 84 |
Industrial development of slave states prematurely arrested | 88 |
Net results of slave industry | 94 |
Constitution of a slave society | 95 |
Its oligarchical character | 96 |
Baneful influence of the slave oligarchy falsely charged on democracy | 98 |
Each principle to be tested by its proper fruits | 100 |
The true delinquent | 102 |
Character of the Slave Power | 103 |
Tendencies of Slave Societies | 104 |
Importance of the question | 106 |
Presumption in favour of modern slavery derived from the experience of ancient | 108 |
Difference of race and colour | 110 |
Its effects | 111 |
Growth of modern commerce | 112 |
In enhancing the value of crude labour and thus augmenting the resources of slavery | 114 |
In superseding the necessity of eduction and thus perpetuating servitude | 116 |
Modern slavery extends its despotism to the mind | 118 |
The slavetrade | 119 |
In relation to the consuming countries | 122 |
In relation to the breeding countries | 124 |
Division of labour between the old and new states | 126 |
Slave breeding in the Border states | 127 |
Effects of the domestic slave trade on the census | 130 |
Probable extent of the domestic slave trade | 135 |
The slave trade securely founded in the principles of population | 137 |
Analogy of emigrating countries | 139 |
Internal Development of Slave Societies | 140 |
They include no element of progress | 143 |
Growth of regular industry a moral impossibility | 147 |
Consequences of the absence of regular industry | 148 |
Extreme sparseness of population | 149 |
Incompatibility of this with civilized progress | 152 |
Prospects of emancipation in the natural course of internal development | 156 |
Modern precedents inapplicable | 157 |
Economic causes not to be relied on | 158 |
Political and social motives the real strength of American slavery | 162 |
Further support to slavery in the ethics and theology of the South | 165 |
Growth of the proslavery sentiment | 166 |
Its absorbing strength | 167 |
Its universality | 169 |
Moral aspects of slavery | 170 |
Hopelessness of the slaves position | 174 |
Social cost of the system | 176 |
Terrorism | 177 |
External Policy of Slave Societies | 179 |
Its aggressive character | 180 |
The moral | 184 |
Tendency of slave society to foster ambition | 185 |
Narrow scope for its indulgence | 187 |
The extensions of the slaveryits sole resource | 188 |
Concentration of aim promoted by antagonism | 189 |
Position of the South in the Union naturally inferior to that of the North | 191 |
The threefifths vote | 195 |
Superior capacity in the South for combined action | 196 |
Democratic allianceits basis | 198 |
Terms of the bargain | 200 |
Twofold motive of Southern aggression | 201 |
The political motive mainly operative | 202 |
True source of this motive | 203 |
Relation of the political motive to the federal position of the South | 204 |
The Career of the Slave Power | 206 |
Rise of the cotton trade | 208 |
Early progress of the planters | 209 |
Views of the annexationists | 220 |
Texas annexed | 221 |
Mexican wardivision of the spoil | 222 |
State of parties in 1850 | 223 |
Designs upon Kansas | 224 |
Obstacle presented by the Missouri Compromise | 225 |
The Kansas and Nebraska Bill squater sovereignty | 226 |
Kansas thrown open for settlement | 227 |
Preparations of the Slave Power | 228 |
Invasion of the territory | 229 |
The Leavenworth Constitution | 230 |
Atrocities of the Border Ruffians | 231 |
Reactiondefeat of the Slave Power | 233 |
Alarm in the North | 235 |
Declaration of principles | 236 |
First trial of strength | 237 |
Southern policy of Thorough | 238 |
Reopening of the African slavetrade | 239 |
Agitation started | 240 |
Importation of slaves actually commenced | 244 |
Perversion of the Constitution | 246 |
Claim of protection to slave property throughout the Union | 247 |
A judicial decision necessary | 248 |
Reconstruction of the Supreme Court | 249 |
Dred Scott case | 250 |
Effect of the decision | 251 |
Further requirementa reliable government | 253 |
Breach with the Democratic partySecession | 254 |
Apology for the Southern aggression | 255 |
Aggression of the Slave power in what sense defensive | 256 |
The apology admits the charge | 257 |
The apology admits the charge | 258 |
Attempt of John Brown | 259 |
Its place in current history | 260 |
The Designs of the Slave Power | 261 |
Essential character of Slave society unchanged by independence | 263 |
Inherent vices of the Slave Power intensified by its new position | 264 |
Limitation of slavery to its present area | 267 |
Results of this plan | 268 |
Territories opened alike to free and slave colonization | 270 |
Probable effects | 271 |
Equal partition of the Territories | 273 |
Argument by which the scheme is defended | 274 |
Paradox involved in this view | 275 |
Effect of success on Southern ambition | 276 |
Northern jealousy not a sufficient safeguard | 277 |
Northern Jealousy | 278 |
European intervention still less to be relied on | 279 |
Modification of slavery involved in the success of the South | 282 |
The antislave trade clause in the Montgomery Constitution | 286 |
Antislavetrade legislation by a Slave Republic | 288 |
Protests of the Southern Press | 290 |
Intersts of the breeding states | 292 |
Strength of public spirit in the South | 293 |
Sacrifice of particular to general interests | 294 |
Conclusion on the whole case | 296 |
General Conclusions | 297 |
Duty of EuropeNeutrality | 299 |
Impolicy of intervention | 302 |
Obligation to render moral support | 303 |
Two modes of settlement equally to be deprecated | 304 |
Reconstruction of the Union | 308 |
Subjugation of the South how far justifiable | 309 |
Subjugation of the South how far predictable | 314 |
Reconstruction of the Union how far expedient | 320 |
Necessity of a recourse to despotic expedients | 321 |
Plan for dispensing with despotism by reforming Southern society | 324 |
The condition of time ignored | 326 |
Disturbing effects of immigration | 327 |
Secession under conditions | 329 |
Peculiar position of the Border states | 330 |
Mr Lincolns proposal | 332 |
Free cultivators in the Border states | 334 |
Facilities for incorporation | 336 |
The line of the Mississippi | 337 |
Immediate and universal emancipation main difficulty of the problem | 341 |
The West Indian experimentits lesson | 342 |
Natural difficulties enhanced in the South | 344 |
Impossibility of protecting the negro | 346 |
their corrupting influence | 347 |
Progressive emancipation Advantage of dealing with the evil in detail | 348 |
Operation of natural causes in the more southern states | 349 |
Prospects of the ultimate extinction of slavery | 350 |
Appendices | 351 |
Southern tactics in Europe | 353 |
Slave labour | 355 |
Failure of the South in manufacturers | 356 |
The mean whites | 358 |
The slave abistochacy in Brazil | 376 |
Industrial revolution in Virginia | 377 |
Competition of free and slave labour in the South | 378 |
Popular eduction in Virginia | 379 |
Mr Stirlings argument for the extinction of slavery through economic causes | 380 |
Economic strength of slavery | 381 |
Spirit of the slave laws | 382 |
Recent importation of African slaves into the South | 386 |
The Philosophy of Secession | 390 |