This is an outline of the economic crisis in the South based on the declining yields, increasing class stratification and higher slave prices. It supplies data on the property holdings and occupations of the elected representatives and finds the secessionists to be young, probably lawyers who were both ambitious and confident. Because the economic dislocation of the 1850s made people receptive to a rhetoric that emphasized conspiratorial abolitionists and almost paranoid fear of blacks and strangers, the politicians were able to persuade their constituents that a real crisis did exist and that secession was the only remedy.

About the Author
William L. Barney is Professor of History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and author or editor of several books on American history, including Passage of the Republic and The Civil War and Reconstruction.

Reviews
Barney outlines an economic crisis in the South based on declining yields, increasing class stratification, and higher slave prices. He then supplies us with detailed data on the property holdings and occupations of the elected representatives and finds the secessionists to be young, probably lawyers... ambitious and confident. Because the economic dislocation of the 1850s made people receptive to a rhetoric that emphasized conspiratorial abolitionists and almost paranold fear of blacks and strangers, the politicians were able to persuade their constituents that a real crisis did exist and that secession was the only remedy. - Virginia Quarterly Review



Book Information
ISBN 9780817350895
Author William L. Barney
Format Paperback
Page Count 386
Imprint The University of Alabama Press
Publisher The University of Alabama Press
Weight(grams) 513g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 141mm * 9mm