The Stormy Present Conservatism and the Problem of Slavery in Northern Politics, 1846 1865

Smith, Adam I. P.

ISBN 10: 1469659085 / ISBN 13: 9781469659084

Published by Univ of North Carolina Pr, 2020

About this Item

331 pages. 9.50x6.50x0.75 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-1469659085

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Stormy Present Conservatism and the Problem of Slavery in Northern Politics, 1846 1865
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1469659085
• ISBN 13: 9781469659084
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.56 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

In this engaging and nuanced political history of Northern communities in the Civil War era, Adam I. P. Smith offers a new interpretation of the familiar story of the path to war and ultimate victory. Smith looks beyond the political divisions between abolitionist Republicans and Copperhead Democrats to consider the everyday conservatism that characterized the majority of Northern voters. A sense of ongoing crisis in these Northern states created anxiety and instability, which manifested in a range of social and political tensions in individual communities.

In the face of such realities, Smith argues that a conservative impulse was more than just a historical or nostalgic tendency; it was fundamental to charting a path to the future. At stake for Northerners was their conception of the Union as the vanguard in a global struggle between democracy and despotism, and their ability to navigate their freedoms through the stormy waters of modernity. As a result, the language of conservatism was peculiarly, and revealingly, prominent in Northern politics during these years. The story this book tells is of conservative people coming, in the end, to accept radical change.

About the Author

Adam I. P. Smith is the Edward Orsborn Professor of U.S. Politics and Political History at the University of Oxford and author of No Party Now: Politics in the Civil War North.