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Stanley Harrold

Border War: Fighting over Slavery Before the Civil War (Civil War America) Hardcover – November 8, 2010

by Stanley Harrold (Author)

4.3 16 ratings

Part of: Civil War America (159 books)

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During the 1840s and 1850s, a dangerous ferment afflicted the North-South border region, pitting the slave states of Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri against the free states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Aspects of this struggle--the underground railroad, enforcement of the fugitive slave laws, mob actions, and sectional politics--are well known as parts of other stories. Here, Stanley Harrold explores the border struggle itself, the dramatic incidents that it comprised, and its role in the complex dynamics leading to the Civil War. Border War examines the previously neglected cross-border clash of attitudes and traditions dating many generations back. By the mid-nineteenth century, nowhere else were tensions greater between antislavery and proslavery interests. Nowhere else was there more direct conflict between the forces binding North and South together and those driving them apart. There were mass slave escapes, battles between a

Part of series

Civil War America
Print length

312 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date

November 8, 2010
Dimensions

6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

1469606852
ISBN-13

978-0807834312
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A good addition to all Civil War collections.--Library Journal

This work forces historians to reconsider the fault lines of the origins of the Civil War and promises new directions for research. Highly recommended.--Choice

Stanley Harrold has written an excellent book that is sure to prompt debate and additional research. It will be required reading for historians of the slavery controversy in the United States.--Civil War Book Review

Fast-paced, lucid, and well-researched.--American Historical Review

[This book] can help those trying to develop a better understanding of the issues that led to secession. . . . Highly recommended.--Blue & Gray Magazine

[This book] should immediately be standard reading for all historians of antebellum America.--Journal of Southern History

A sobering, meticulously researched and astutely presented historical analysis, highly recommended especially for college library collections.--Midwest Book Review

This book is important in understanding the intense feelings on both sides of the conflict that help lead to the start of our American Civil War. . . . Excellent.--Lone Star Book Review

Border War is a must-have for anyone seeking to understand the small-scale underlying fights that snowballed the Civil War. . . . Textbooks and many leading historical works leave gaps by portraying the sweeping movements, but Harrold fills in the details without which a true and thorough understanding of the slavery issue and the Civil War is impossible.--Virginia Libraries

[Border War] is a solid, detailed narrative of the violent conflict that developed along the border between the North and South in the decades before the Civil War.--The Annals of Iowa

About the Author

Stanley Harrold is professor of history at South Carolina State University.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0807834319
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of North Carolina Press; First Edition (November 8, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1469606852
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807834312
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.06 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,593,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9,427 in Discrimination & Racism
- #10,184 in U.S. Civil War History
- #54,278 in U.S. State & Local History

Customer Reviews:
4.3 16 ratings

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P. R. Smith

A Revealing Story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 15, 2012

Verified Purchase

In 'Border War, Fighting Over Slavery Before the Civil War', Stanley Harrold has scored an A+. Early in the book, he describes how unfamiliar visitors to both regions noticed the prosperity of the free labor north and the dismal condition of the slave south. He makes clear the differences between the lower North and upper South, states on the boundry line between slave and free that struggled for 30 years over slavery, sometimes coming to fatal blows. Harrold brings to life the terrible impact and great cost that slavery was to the U.S. The 30 year struggle escalated on both sides of the boundry, causing each to become more hardened in defense of their opinion of free vs. slave labor. A great amount of research was no doubt put into making this book so revealing. I have also read 'Disunion' by Elizabeth Varon and 'Fate of Their Country' by Michael Holt, both of which focus more on the political aspect of the road to Civil War. Those two books in combination with 'Border War' gave me a better understanding of the events that led to America's bloodiest conflict. I can't say enough good things about 'Border War' but will end saying that it is a must read for anyone interested in understanding conditions that led to the melt down in 1861.

7 people found this helpful

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Richard S. Carter

A thoroughly scholarly history told as an intense page turner

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 10, 2013

Verified Purchase

I would have given this book five stars except that at a few intervals the prose and information become a little bit dry and detailed. It mostly, however, is a very readable rendition of the ongoing violence along the border between slave and nonslave states in the decades prior to the Civil War. For me it was a really absorbing read, and I recommend it for anyone who is interested in politics prior to the war, the Underground Railroad, the abolition movement, or in understanding the war itself. Also, it's a very, very thoroughly academically researched work, giving the story excellent credibility for all it's factual content.

3 people found this helpful

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drjlf

Useful Text

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

Harrold provides a good narrative with many examples of how the animosity between slave and free states grew over time. It is tempting to simplify the issues that the nation faced at the time as right and wrong. Harrold does a good job in demonstrating just how complex and contentious the issues were.

One person found this helpful

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A "Must Read" book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 15, 2011

Slavery did not present a great problem when the majority of the states held slaves. As states emancipated slaves and other states did not, two systems created problems. As America moved through the 1800s, the slavery problem grew until civil war settled the issue. Petitions to Congress, resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law, John Brown and Uncle Tom's Cabin occupy our attention in the East. "The Troubles" in Kansas occupies our attention in the West. Together, they make up the majority of the history of anti-slavery activities prior to the war. This book looks at the everyday problems on the border between a free and slave society. It is not so much a history of great events but of problems. These problems built the attitudes causing the big events that make up history. New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri were the border. On this canvass is played out a very nasty contest were comprise while attempted is almost impossible to archive.
An escaped slave is a loss from $50,000 to $80,000, in today's dollars. Any debit contracted to buy a slave is not forgiven if the slave escapes. From Slave States comes a constant stream of runaway slaves and those trying to capture them. These results in confrontations that are often violent. Northern Whites and Free Blacks join escaped slaves fighting those trying to recapture them. Often, the court became involved and usually protected the escaped slave. Southern states tried diplomacy to establish their rights under the law to their property. As the Northern courts become less sympathetic and refuse to return escaped slaves, the South turns to the Federal Government.
A major problem in Northern states is attempts to enslave black residents. In some cases, the claim is the person ran away years ago and is legal property. These cases often went to court with varied results. In other cases, gangs simply kidnapped people to take south and sell into slavery. Philadelphia has a real problem with kidnappers for years, young men and children being prime targets of the gangs.
Going south are kidnappers that have jumped bail or escaped arrest. Another and possibly larger group are men jailed while trying to capture an escaped slave. Southern states are loath to surrender these people; just as Northern states are loath to surrender Blacks. The result is a continued series of hearings and court filings that increase the anger and frustration level on both sides.
A second group going south is men looking to encourage and guide escaped slaves to freedom. This very dangerous activity results in many mass escapes, some well armed, pitched battles and court cases. This is an amazing look at personal bravery and great risk to fight a moral wrong.
This is a history of legal actions, raids, hearings, riots and small desperate battles. It is a very personal series of events that together built the political battles of the times. The author is an excellent writer. This large canvass is put into an understandable logical story where each series of incidents leads to the next. We come to understand why the South fought for the Fugitive Slave Law and why John Brown could think, his raid just might work. The author is very fair to both sides, presenting the facts and their positions without moralizing or injecting modern ideas. This is a unique book and one that is necessary read if you want to understand politics prior to the war.

7 people found this helpful

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lyndonbrecht

Read the bad review and you'll see why intelligent people need to read this book.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 17, 2015

You might start with the one highly negative review; it's a reminder that topics like this remain volatile and that some people even today, simply do not accept any book supporting the idea that slavery was bad, that Robert E. Lee was not a saint or that African American people were treated horribly. The problem is that this is a very very good book, the research is sound and the truth can hurt.

It is an overview of resistance and fighting, sometimes deadly. It covers not just the guerilla skirmishes in 1850s Kansas, but also slaves defending themselves as they tried to escape, were defended by abolitionists and much more. One item will make fans of General Lee squirm--during the course of Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania that resulted in Gettysburg, hundreds of black people were rounded up to take back to the Confederacy to be re-enslaved; these included fugitive slaves but also kidnapped free people. That is a stain on Lee's army. The practice seems to have been common--anyone looking for a book topic?

The book concentrates on Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The content is worth knowing about. Four stars for writing but overall five for content and a good narrative flow.

4 people found this helpful

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Louis

Bookmark Page, Save as State Propagandist

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 2, 2012

Thank you for drawing out every media front group for the State. Divide and Conquer! This will make identifying propaganda that much easier. It's nice to have a complete list and hear their rave reviews. This book will also be on the recommended reading list of the Klan and Black Panthers.

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Border War: Fighting over Slavery Before the Civil War (Civil War America) Hardcover – November 8, 2010

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