Slavery and secession in Arkansas : a documentary history / edited by James J. Gigantino, II.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gigantino, James J., II, 1983-

Series:

Civil War in the West

The Civil War in the West

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Slavery--Arkansas--History.

Slavery.

Antislavery movements--Arkansas--History.

Antislavery movements.

History.

Arkansas--Politics and government--To 1950.

Arkansas.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xxv, 247 pages : map ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Fayetteville, Ark. : University Of Arkansas Press, 2015.

Summary:

The absorbing documents collected in Slavery and Secession in Arkansas trace Arkansas's torturous road to secession and war. Drawn from contemporary pamphlets, broadsides, legislative debates, public addresses, newspapers, and private correspondence, these accounts show the intricate twists and turns of the political drama in Arkansas between early 1859 and the summer of 1861. From an early warning of what Republican political dominance would mean for the South, through the initial rejection of secession, to Arkansas's final abandonment of the Union, readers, even while knowing the eventual outcome, will find the journey suspenseful and informative. Revealing both the unique features of the secession story in Arkansas and the issues that the state shared with much of the rest of the South, this collection illustrates how Arkansans debated their place in the nation and, specifically, how the defense of slavery-as both an assurance of continued economic progress and a means of social control-remained central to the decision to leave the Union and fight alongside much of the South for four bloody years of civil war. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Approaching the Election of 1860 1

Chapter 2 From Election to Call for Convention: November 1860-January 1861 29

Chapter 3 Campaigning for a Convention: January and February 1861 97

Chapter 4 The First Convention: March 1861 151

Chapter 5 Moving toward Secession: April and May 1861 193.

Notes:

Not distributed; available at Arkansas State Library.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1557286760

9781557286765

OCLC:

908991300