Customer Reviews

A House Divided: The Antebellum Slavery Debates in America, 1776-1865

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of those works where an editor must make decisions that will not please everyone. It took a coruption of conscience for me to give this work four stars. The book is over 480 text pages in not especially readable text. The indx is so inadequyate it could have been left out. Many items included are so abridged as to worthless, e.g., the Missouri Compromise and the Wilmot Proviso cover one [page of the text. The author has included only the "relevant" porotions. If you are interested in the complete texts you are free to find it somewhere else.The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 covers pages 26 through 31 without pictures.
The editor introduces the selections printed here. Sometimes the introductions take more space than the works themselves. The lecture of Slavery delivered by Ralph Waldo Emerson is abridged to 7 pages. Maybe our editor was trying to prove Emerson's addage about foolish consistency being the hobgoblin of little minds. I think I would prefer to read Emerson in toto rather edited by some smarter pen.
We have Harriet Beecher Stowe introduced to us. Don't worry, Uncle Tom's Cabin is not included, only the editor's thoughts on Stowe. And we have a nice Currier & Ives print to accompany this.
Chapter 11 deals with "Science in Antebellum America" and the first 22 pages are the editor's introduction. Two and one half pages are frivilously squandered on Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia"--actually the words of Jefferson. Six pages of Fowler's "Hereditary Descent are offered. Theodore Parker is awarded one page in this chapter. In Chapter 8 David Walker's Appeal is reduced to 6 pages. The work concludes with a very brief section from Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (7 pages).

This is not a terrible book, but it should be seen for what it is--an anthology of sorts. For myself, I regret having spent so much on a book that offers so little. I have many of these books in my library, so I can browse them and pick out what I want to read for myself. This is a great book for those who have little knowledge of the subject, limited access to books, want an introduction with some source material, etc. For this reason I give it 4 stars. If you want a book that delves deeply into the thoughts of the Antebellum American world, skip this. If what you need is a convenient one book source, this is fine.

The book arrived in the time expected. i have not read the book yet.