The 1850s offered the last remotely feasible chance for the United
States to steer clear of Civil War. Yet fundamental differences between
North and South about slavery and the meaning of freedom caused
political conflicts to erupt again and again throughout the decade as
the country lurched toward secession and war.
With their grudging acceptance of the Compromise of 1850 and the
election of Franklin Pierce as president in 1852, most Americans hoped
that sectional strife and political upheaval had come to an end.
Extremists in both North and South, abolitionists and secessionists,
testified to the prevailing air of complacency by their shared
frustration over having failed to bring on some sort of conflict. Both
sets of zealots wondered what it would take to convince the masses that
the other side still menaced their respective visions of liberty. And,
as new divisive issues emerged in national politics-with slavery still
standing as the major obstacle-compromise seemed more elusive than ever.
As the decade progressed, battle lines hardened. The North grew more
hostile to slavery while the South seized every opportunity to spread
it. 'Immigrant Aid Societies' flourished in the North, raising money,
men, and military supplies to secure a free soil majority in Kansas.
Southerners flocked to the territory in an effort to fight off
antislavery. After his stirring vilification of the institution of
slavery, Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner was brutally attacked on
the floor of the United States Senate. Congress, whose function was to
peacefully resolve disputes, became an armed camp, with men in both
houses and from both sections arming themselves within the capitol
building. In October 1858, Senator William Henry Seward said that the
nation was headed for an 'irrepressible conflict.' In spite of the
progress ushered in by the decade's enormous economic growth, the
country was self destructing.
The Shattering of the Union: America in the 1850s is a concise, readable
analysis and survey of the major ideas and events that resulted in the
Civil War. The first scholarly synthesis of America's final antebellum
decade to be published in more than twenty years, this essential
overview incorporates methods and findings by recognized historians on
politics, society, race relations, ideology, and slavery. This book is a
fascinating look at one of the pivotal decades in U.S. history.
