The scorpion's sting : antislavery and the coming of the Civil War

Explores The Civil War And The Anti-slavery Movement, Specifically Highlighting The Plan To Help Abolish Slavery By Surrounding The Slave States With Territories Of Freedom And Discusses The Possibility Of What Could Have Been A More Peaceful Alternative To The War. Introduction: At Stake -- Like A Scorpion Girt By Fire -- The Right Versus The Wrong Of Property In Man -- Race Conflict -- The Wars Over Wartime Emancipation -- Epilogue: Harriet Beecher Stowe And Her British Sisters. James Oakes. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Surrounded by a ring of fire, the scorpion stings itself to death. The image, widespread among antislavery leaders before the Civil War, captures their long-standing strategy for peaceful abolition: they would surround the slave states with a cordon of freedom. They planned to use federal power wherever they could to establish freedom: the western territories, the District of Columbia, the high seas. By constricting slavery they would induce a crisis: slaves would escape in ever-greater numbers, the southern economy would falter, and finally the southern states would abolish the institution themselves. For their part the southern states fully understood this antislavery strategy. They cited it repeatedly as they adopted secession ordinances in response to Lincoln's election. The scorpion's sting is the centerpiece of this fresh, incisive exploration of slavery and the Civil War: Was there a peaceful route to abolition? Was Lincoln late to emancipation? What role did race play in the politics of slavery? With stunning insight James Oakes moves us ever closer to a new understanding of the most momentous events in our history. A Washington Post Notable Work of Nonfiction for 2014. The image of a scorpion surrounded by a ring of fire, stinging itself to death, was widespread among antislavery leaders before the Civil War. It captures their long-standing strategy for peaceful abolition: they would surround the slave states with a cordon of freedom, constricting slavery and inducing the social crisis in which the peculiar institution would die. The image opens a fresh perspective on antislavery and the coming of the Civil War, brilliantly explored here by one of our greatest historians of the period. Surrounded by a ring of fire, the scorpion stings itself to death. This image is the centrepiece of James Oakes's incisive exploration of slavery and the American Civil War. With startling results, Oakes examines whether there was a peaceful rout to abolition, avoiding civil war; whether Lincoln was late to emancipation and the role race played in the politics of slavery Explores the Civil War and the anti-slavery movement, specifically highlighting the plan to help abolish slavery by surrounding the slave states with territories of freedom and discusses the possibility of what could've been a more peaceful alternative to the war. 17,000 first printing. An award-winning historian illuminates the strategy for ending slavery that precipitated the crisis of civil war.