Jacksonian Antislavery and the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854 [Hardcover]

Jonathan H. Earle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2003

Taking our understanding of political antislavery into largely unexplored terrain, Jonathan H. Earle counters conventional wisdom and standard historical interpretations that view the ascendance of free-soil ideas within the antislavery movement as an explicit retreat from the goals of emancipation or even as an essentially proslavery ideology. These claims, he notes, fail to explain free soil's real contributions to the antislavery cause: its incorporation of Jacksonian ideas about property and political equality and its transformation of a struggling crusade into a mass political movement.

Democratic free soilers' views on race occupied a wide spectrum, but they were able to fashion new and vital arguments against slavery and its expansion based on the party's long-standing commitment to egalitarianism and hostility to centralized power. Linking their antislavery stance to a land-reform agenda that pressed for free land for poor settlers in addition to land free of slavery, Free Soil Democrats forced major political realignments in New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Democratic politicians such as David Wilmot, Marcus Morton, John Parker Hale, and even former president Martin Van Buren were transformed into antislavery leaders. As Earle shows, these political changes at the local, state, and national levels greatly intensified the looming sectional crisis and paved the way for the Civil War.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Deeply researched, lucidly written, clearly and provocatively argued, and packed with new information."
— Civil War History Journal

"Provides fresh readings of new or underused evidence to make the case that Democratic free soilers were an essential part of the coalition that helped root out slavery in North America."
— Historical New Hampshire

From the Inside Flap

Tracing the rise of antislavery free-soil politics among Jacksonian Democrats in the 1830s and 1840s, Jonathan Earle argues that previous scholars have distorted the history of both the Jacksonians and the antislavery movement by neglecting the growing number of northern Democrats who decided to oppose slavery and its expansion.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (October 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807828882
• ISBN-13: 978-0807828885
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,401,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rarity in Academic Writing: Past U.S. Politics are actually interesting, who knew?, August 8, 2006

By 

Erica Hare "Erica" (Alexandria VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jacksonian Antislavery and the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854 (Hardcover)

In the contemporary professional world of academic writing current history professors have unfortunately succumbed to falling back on the traditional stereotypical role of pretentious writing, utilization of uncommon vocabulary, complicated imagery relating to their historical subject, and hard to understand primary evidence that the general public can not relate to in their own lives and era.
However, Jonathan Earle effectively demonstrates in his book with superlative ease how past U.S. politics, its parties, and the era in which they were at it's apex, can indeed be interesting to the general public again. Jonathan Earle counter poses the traditional stereotypical role by using interesting primary evidence through out his book, in which he makes you feel like you were actually participating in the events and conversations that took place almost 182 years ago.
Earle uses fascinating historical imagery that not only correlates to what he writes about, but makes you want to explore the images away from the fascinating and important emergence of the Free Soil Party, which defied the traditional system of U.S. politics up to that point in our brief history as a nation. With just a brief emergence of a new century this book shows that our young nation was already facing dire dilemmas that would eventually divide a nation into half for four bloody years. With more men, women, and children who were murdered on both the Union and Confederate sides, then both World Wars and contemporary wars that the U.S. has been involved in to this day.
This is an outstanding read that will take your imagination on a wild adventure back to a time period and political party that is too often negated in U.S. history. In my view Jonathan Earle's book and his writing has triumphantly pounced the traditional stereotypical role. That historical subjects and academic writing can not only appeal to the general public again, but more importantly Earle's book shows just how significant past key historical events and U.S. politics have shaped our lives to this very day.
Erica Hare

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical take on U.S. history, May 8, 2006

By 

J. Eilperin (Washington D.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jacksonian Antislavery and the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854 (Hardcover)

Jonathan Earle's deftly written, lively account of the Free Soil Democrats' role in the antislavery effort challenges traditional interpretations of the movement, showing these politicians played a critical role in this country's push toward equality. But more than that, Earle makes you feel like you were at the dinner table with these folks as they debated the central issue of the day, and that's worth the price of the book alone.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, July 31, 2011

By 

Dave J Peavler (Somewhere Between Texas and Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jacksonian Antislavery and the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854 (Paperback)

This is a wonderful survey of Free Soil politics that my students have found both accesible and fascinating. Let me say this in a more direct way-people who don't usually read books enjoyed this book. Earle's writing is crisp and his attention to detail is superb. For those wishing to understand the period leading up to the Civil War, this book is a great place to start.