Roots of Secession: Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia

by William A. Link

Overview

Offering a provocative new look at the politics of secession in antebellum Virginia, William Link places African Americans at the center of events and argues that their acts of defiance and rebellion had powerful political repercussions throughout the turbulent period leading up to the Civil War.
An upper South state with nearly half a million slaves—more than any other state in the nation—and some 50,000 free blacks, Virginia witnessed a uniquely volatile convergence of slave resistance and electoral politics in the 1850s. While masters struggled with slaves, disunionists sought to join a regionwide effort to secede and moderates sought to protect slavery but remain in the Union. Arguing for a definition of political action that extends beyond the electoral sphere, Link shows that the coming of the Civil War was directly connected to Virginia's system of slavery, as the tension between defiant slaves and anxious slaveholders energized Virginia politics and spurred on the impending sectional crisis.
An upper South state with nearly half a million slaves—more than any other state in the nation—and some 50,000 free blacks, Virginia witnessed a uniquely volatile convergence of slave resistance and electoral politics in the 1850s. While masters struggled with slaves, disunionists sought to join a regionwide effort to secede and moderates sought to protect slavery but remain in the Union. Arguing for a definition of political action that extends beyond the electoral sphere, William Link shows that the coming of the Civil War was directly connected to Virginia's system of slavery, as the tension between defiant slaves and anxious slaveholders energized Virginia politics and spurred on the impending sectional crisis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807863206
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	01/21/2004
Series:	Civil War America
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
Lexile:	1690L (what's this?)
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

William A. Link is Richard J. Milbauer Professor of History at the University of Florida. His previous books include William Friday: Power, Purpose, and American Higher Education; A Hard Country and a Lonely Place: Schooling, Society, and Reform in Rural Virginia, 1870–1920; and The Paradox of Southern Progressivism, 1880–1930.

Table of Contents

Illustrations and Maps
Tables
Preface
Introduction
Prologue. To Make Ourselves Slaves, That You May Defend Yours: Slavery and Constitutional Reform
1. A Slave Society: Virginia in the 1850s
2. Boastful and Belligerent Champions of Southern Institutions: Slavery and Politics, 1851-1854
3. A Uniform Spirit of Lawlessness: The Problem of Runaways
4. A Spirit of License in the Guise of Liberty: The Survival of Opposition, 1854-1856
5. The Darkest and Most Perilous Hours of Our National Existence: The Deepening Sectional Crisis, 1856-1859
6. A Black Demon of Fanaticism: Harpers Ferry and the Election of 1860
7. To Light the Torch of Servile Insurrection: The Secession Crisis
Epilogue. The Rending of Virginia
Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Link’s analysis is clear and thought-provoking. . . . A compelling argument that does, indeed, place slaves at the center of political sectionalism. . . . Deepens and complicates our notion of political culture and the roots of secession. ” — Civil War History

“Through extraordinary research and careful exposition, Link skillfully intertwines the regional language and political rhetoric of over seventy newspapers and many other primary sources with his historical analysis.” — Journal of African American History

“This is superb historical scholarship — a work that attempts to discern important social changes and how those changes affected nearly every other issue in the era. . . . It is a must read for antebellum students. Those interested in politics, slavery, and the economy, all can benefit from it. . . . Roots of Secession shows how good history can include many factors and how the complexities of society are so often interconnected.” — H-Net Reviews

“A most valuable work on antebellum Virginia. Focusing almost entirely on the period from 1850 to the state’s secession in April 1861, Link has drawn on a wide variety of sources to write what will surely become the standard work on the subject.” — American Historical Review

“Link does a superb job in illuminating the anxiety felt by Virginia politicians in the 1850s and adeptly shows the manner in which slavery contributed to tensions between slaveholding and nonslaveholding whites as the decade progressed. . . . Link provides a valuable and provocative contribution to the literature on slavery, politics, and secession.” — Journal of American History

“Link addresses social, legal, political, economic, and cultural factors, making a persuasive case for how they interacted to contribute to Virginia’s secession. . . . [He] supports his study by exemplary research in a variety of primary sources and reference to an abundance of secondary studies. His book benefits from well-crafted maps and many illustrations, including evocative photographs.” — Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“William A. Link’s Roots of Secession is an important addition to the large and growing body of literature showing the intimate connection between the slave society of the Old South and the causes of the Civil War.” — Virginia Libraries

“In this deeply researched and imaginatively argued narrative, William Link explores the key nexus in the coming of the Civil War. He shows how defiant slaves and a political culture built around slavery pushed Virginia into secession and a war they resisted.” — Edward L. Ayers, University of Virginia

“By linking slave behavior with the mounting sectional crisis in Virginia during the 1850s, William Link has opened up a fascinating new approach to studying the politics of the commonwealth in the years leading up to secession. Civil War scholars will have to contend with this provocative argument, and the debate should be a lively one.” — Charles B. Dew, Williams College

Editorial Reviews

"Link's analysis is clear and thought-provoking. . . . A compelling argument that does, indeed, place slaves at the center of political sectionalism. . . . Deepens and complicates our notion of political culture and the roots of secession. "
-- "Civil War History"

By linking slave behavior with the mounting sectional crisis in Virginia during the 1850s, William Link has opened up a fascinating new approach to studying the politics of the commonwealth in the years leading up to secession.
(Charles B. Dew, Williams College)

From the Publisher