The Slaveholding Republic : An Account of the United States Government's Relations to Slavery

Many leading historians have argued that the Constitution of the United States was a proslavery document. But in The Slaveholding Republic, one of America's most eminent historians refutes this claim in a landmark history that stretches from the Continental Congress to the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Fehrenbacher shows that the Constitution itself was more or less neutral on the issue of slavery and that, in the antebellum period, the idea that the Constitution protected slavery was hotly debated (many Northerners would concede only that slavery was protected by state law, not by federal law). Nevertheless, he also reveals that U.S. policy abroad and in the territories was consistently proslavery. Fehrenbacher makes clear why Lincoln's election was such a shock to the South and shows how Lincoln's approach to emancipation, which seems exceedingly cautious by modern standards, quickly evolved into a "Republican revolution" that ended the anomaly of the United States as a "slaveholding republic." William Lloyd Garrison argued--and many leading historians have since agreed--that the Constitution of the United States was a proslavery document. Garrison called it "a covenant with death, and an agreement with hell." But in The Slaveholding Republic , one of America's most eminent historians, Don E. Fehrenbacher, argues against this claim, in a wide-ranging, landmark history that stretches from the Continental Congress to the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Fehrenbacher ranges from sharp-eyed analyses of the deal-making behind the "proslavery clauses" of the constitution, to colorful accounts of partisan debates in Congress and heated confrontations with Great Britain (for instance, over slaves taken off American ships and freed in British ports). He shows us that the Constitution itself was more or less neutral on the issue of slavery and that, in the antebellum period, the idea that the Constitution protected slavery was hotly debated (many Northerners would concede only that slavery was protected by state law, not by federal law). Nevertheless, he also reveals that US policy--whether in foreign courts, on the high seas, in federal territories, or even in the District of Columbia--was consistently proslavery. The book concludes with a brilliant portrait of Lincoln. Fehrenbacher makes clear why Lincoln's election was such a shock to the South and shows how Lincoln's approach to emancipation, which seems exceedingly cautious by modern standards, quickly evolved into a "Republican revolution" that ended the anomaly of the United States as a "slaveholding republic." The last and perhaps most important book by a Pulitzer-Prize winning historian, The Slaveholding Republic illuminates one of the most enduring issues in our nation's history. "William Lloyd Garrison argued - and many leading historians have since agreed - that the Constitution of the United States was a proslavery document. Garrison called it 'a covenant with death, and an agreement with hell.' But in The Slaveholding Republic, one of America's most eminent historians, Don E. Fehrenbacher, argues against this claim in a wide-ranging, landmark history that stretches from the Continental Congress to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Fehrenbacher ranges from sharp-eyed analyses of the deal-making behind the 'proslavery clauses' of the constitution to colorful accounts of partisan debates in Congress and heated confrontations with Great Britain (for instance, over slaves taken off American ships and freed in British ports). He shows us that the Constitution itself was more or less neutral on the issue of slavery and that, in the antebellum period, the idea that the Constitution protected slavery was hotly debated (many northerners would concede only that slavery was protected by state law, not by federal law). Nevertheless, he also reveals that U.S. policy - whether in foreign courts, on the high seas, in federal territories, or even in the District of Columbia - was consistently proslavery. The book concludes with a brilliant portrait of Lincoln. Fehrenbacher makes clear why Lincoln's election was such a shock to the South and shows how Lincoln's approach to emancipation, which seems exceedingly cautious by modern standards, quickly evolved into a 'Republican revolution' that ended the anomaly of the United States as a 'slaveholding republic.'"--Jacket Many leading historians have argued that the Constitution of the United States was a proslavery document, but in this text, Don Fehrenbacher refutes this claim in a history that stretches from the Continental Congress to the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln This volume analyses how the government of the United States effectively became an agent of the slaveholding interest, despite the fact that the nation had been founded upon ideals potentially hostile to the institution of slavery DURING THE SPRING of 1828, Congress passed the "tariff of abominations," thereby adding to the excitement and confusion of the presidential contest between the incumbent John Quincy Adams and his opponent, Andrew Jackson.