Slavery and Sectional Strife in the Early American Republic, 1776-1821

by Gary J. Kornblith

Overview

Slavery and Sectional Strife in the Early American Republic, 1776–1821 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742550964
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/16/2009
Series:	American Controversies
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Gary J. Kornblith is professor of history at Oberlin College. He is the editor of The Industrial Revolution in America and co-editor of Teaching American History.

Table of Contents

Section 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

Editorial Reviews

Because 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

From the Publisher

Because 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

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

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

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