Slavery and Politics in the Early American Republic - by Matthew Mason (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Giving close consideration to previously neglected debates, Matthew Mason challenges the common contention that slavery held little political significance in America until the Missouri Crisis of 1819. Mason demonstrates that slavery and politics were enmeshed in the creation of the nation, and in fact there was never a time between the Revolution and the Civil War in which slavery went uncontested.

The American Revolution set in motion the split between slave states and free states, but Mason explains that the divide took on greater importance in the early nineteenth century. He examines the partisan and geopolitical uses of slavery, the conflicts between free states and their slaveholding neighbors, and the political impact of African Americans across the country.

Offering a full picture of the politics of slavery in the crucial years of the early republic, Mason demonstrates that partisans and patriots, slave and free -- and not just abolitionists and advocates of slavery -- should be considered important players in the politics of slavery in the United States.

Review Quotes

"Slavery and Politics in the Early American Republic is based on extensive research, broad in scope, clearly organized, and well written. Mason has made a significant contribution to the history of the Early Republic and of American slavery." -- Georgia Historical Quarterly

"[A] careful and complex depiction of the variety of ways in which slavery entered the politics of the period. . . . A major contribution to our understanding of the significant role the institution of slavery had in the politics of the early republic." -- Journal of the Early Republic

"After reading this interesting book, few historians can deny that slavery was an important, indeed integral, component of the politics of the early American republic." -- Civil War History

"Elegantly written . . . benefit[s] from copious research." -- New England Quarterly

"Extensive and persuasive. . . . Adds rich and valuable texture to our understanding of early national politics and the Missouri Crisis." -- William and Mary Quarterly

"Mason has done an excellent job of assembling and presenting a wealth of evidence in a clear, coherent fashion." -- Indiana Magazine of History

"Mason unapologetically restores politics to the center stage. . . . [He] has a mastery of the secondary literature. . . . This is a bird's-eye view that leaves plenty of scope for future researchers." -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"Mason's historical argument is a powerful one. . . . In a revisionist vein, it shows how the 1808-1820 years were not really the lull before the antebellum storm." -- American Historical Review

"Scholars and general readers alike will profit from this book. . . . Recommended." -- CHOICE

"This well-crafted monograph . . . revises our understanding of the early national debates over slavery. . . . Scholars of slavery and early national politics will want to read Mason's work." -- Journal of Southern History