The South and the Politics of Slavery, 1828-1856

by William J. Cooper Jr.

Book Overview

Reporting on attitudes and reactions in each of the eleven states that were to form the Confederacy, William Cooper traces and analyzes the history of southern politics from the formation of the Democratic party in the late 1820s to the cessation of the Deocratic-Whig struggle in the 1850s. He bases his study on extensive research of regional political manuscripts and newspapers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807107751
• ISBN13: 9780807107751
• Release Date: June 1980
• Publisher: LSU Press
• Length: 420 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Was Slavery the Cause of the Civil War?

It is interesting that this question still causes such a high level of bitter disagreement. This question has been argued in a thousand different ways. Cooper's work, in my opinion, provides the answer. He convincingly shows that Southern politics turned on the issue of slavery not just after 1850, but all the way back to 1831. Slavery and Southern safety won and lost the big elections after 1831 in every Southern state. The issues differed (states' rights, western expansion, etc.), but the heart of every issue was what it would do to slavery. It's hard to find, but if you can, read it.