Fugitives and Foreigners, Kansas and
Canings, 1850-56.
Read Burton, Age of Lincoln, chapters three and four.
Analyze this table of Northern Party Shifts. Read the Appeal of the Independent Democrats (24 January 1854). Read the speech of Preston Brooks on the Nebraska Bill. Read a newspaper reaction to the Boston Fugitive Slave Riots. Browse through the Sumner caning editorials at Furman's Secession Era Editorials Project website. Please read at least one editorial of your choice from each different political party and be prepared to discuss it in class.
The Late 1850s: Will Slavery be
National (I)?
Browse through the Dred Scott editorials on Furman's Secession Era Editorials
Project website. Please read at least one editorial of your choice from
each different political party and be prepared to discuss it in class.
As you read the documents, consider whether party or section is more
important in shaping the editorialist's views.
The Late 1850s: Will Slavery be
National (II)?
Browse through the editorials responding to John Brown's Raid. Please read at
least one editorial of your choice from each different political party
and be prepared to discuss it in class. As before, consider whether party or
section is more important in shaping the editorialist's views. What is your
assessment of the degree of polarization in these editorials, compared to
those from the Dred Scott case?
Historians and the Coming of the Civil
War.
You may optionally read James G. Randall,"The Blundering Generation" Mississippi Valley
Historical Review [JAH], 27 (1940), 3-28. (You will need to be on the
Furman network toaccess the electronic version of this).
A short essay of no more than 750 words is due in class today, containing your concise analysis of the meaning of antebellum sectional differences. See the Essay Guidelines page for complete details.
The Election of 1860.
Read Burton, Age of Lincoln, chapter five.
Look at a table of presidential election returns, especially the trends in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois. Browse political cartoons from the 1860 presidential campaign.
You may want to begin reviewing the map of the Eastern U.S. and the map of the Virginia theatre as you prepare for the upcoming map quiz. There is a blank map of the Southeast that you can print and use for practice.
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Note: The instructor reserves the right to change any provisions, due dates, grading percentages, or any other items without prior notice. All assignments on this schedule are covered under the university's policy on plagiarism and academic integrity. See the syllabus statement for further details. This page was last updated on 3/2/2008.