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The Road to Disunion: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854: Volume IFar from a monolithic block of diehard slave states, the South in the eight decades before the Civil War was, in William Freehling's words, "a world so lushly various as to be a storyteller's dream." It was a world where Deep South cotton planters clashed with South Carolina rice growers, where the egalitarian spirit sweeping the North seeped down through border states already uncertain about slavery, where even sections of the same state (for
Far from a monolithic block of diehard slave states, the South in the eight decades before the Civil War was, in William Freehling's words, "a world so lushly various as to be a storyteller's dream." It was a world where Deep South cotton planters clashed with South Carolina rice growers, where the egalitarian spirit sweeping the North seeped down through border states already uncertain about slavery, where even sections of the same state (for instance, coastal and mountain Virginia) divided bitterly on key issues. It was the world of Jefferson Davis, John C. Calhoun, Andrew Jackson, and Thomas Jefferson, and also of Gullah Jack, Nat Turner, and Frederick Douglass.Now, in the first volume of his long awaited, monumental study of the South's road to disunion, historian William Freehling offers a sweeping political and social history of the antebellum South from 1776 to 1854. All the dramatic events leading to secession are here: the Missouri Compromise, the Nullification Controversy, the Gag Rule ("the Pearl Harbor of the slavery controversy"), the Annexation of Texas, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Freehling vividly recounts each crisis, illuminating complex issues and sketching colorful portraits of major figures. Along the way, he reveals the surprising extent to which slavery influenced national politics before 1850, and he provides important reinterpretations of American republicanism, Jeffersonian states' rights, Jacksonian democracy, and the causes of the American Civil War.
But for all Freehling's brilliant insight into American antebellum politics, Secessionists at Bay is at bottom the saga of the rich social tapestry of the pre-war South. He takes us to old Charleston, Natchez, and Nashville, to the big house of a typical plantation, and we feel anew the tensions between the slaveowner and his family, the poor whites and the planters, the established South and the newer South, and especially between the slave and his master, "Cuffee" and "Massa." Freehling brings the Old South back to life in all its color, cruelty, and diversity. It is a memorable portrait, certain to be a key analysis of this crucial era in American history.
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 12/05/1991
ISBN: 9780195072594
Pages: 656
Weight: 1.95lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.70d
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4.5 ★★★★★
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★★★★★ 5
The shape of the world as it is now and has been
Format: Hardcover
I am currently reading this book. I am a specialist in political science, history, Latin American studies and an "old guy" now, born just post-WWII. This is in a long life of study and research and living in three countries--US my birth country and two very different Latin American countries, just for context. I can simply and unreservedly say that this is one of the most important books I have ever read. Not only interesting to read for any caring person, but absolutely requisite.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2026
★★★★★ 5
A Must Read
Format: Hardcover
Truly insightful work. Is there anything less to expect from Alfred McCoy? Start the new year off right with this timely read - you won't regret it.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Great
Format: Paperback
As expected. Fun to read
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Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Sweet story
Format: Paperback
This is a sweet story for an early independent reader. Nice pictures to go along with the storyline.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022
★★★★★ 5
Best Book for Kids who move around a lot...
Format: Paperback
Best book ever for children who move around a lot....
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Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2020