
A Slaveholders' Union
Slavery, Politics, and the Constitution in the Early American Republic
George William Van Cleve(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Will be published approx. on 1. October 2010
Book
Hardback
408 pages
978-0-226-84668-2 (ISBN)
Description
After its early introduction into the English colonies in North America, slavery in the United States lasted as a legal institution until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. But increasingly during the contested politics of the early republic, abolitionists cried out that the Constitution itself was a slaveowners' document, produced to protect and further their rights. "A Slaveholders' Union" furthers this unsettling claim by demonstrating once and for all that slavery was indeed an essential part of the foundation of the nascent republic. In this powerful book, George William Van Cleve demonstrates that the Constitution was pro-slavery in its politics, its economics, and its law. He convincingly shows that the Constitutional provisions protecting slavery were much more than mere "political" compromises - they were integral to the principles of the new nation. Deftly interweaving historical and political analyses, "A Slaveholders' Union" will become the definitive explanation of slavery's persistence and growth - and of its influence on American constitutional development - from the Revolutionary War through the Missouri Compromise of 1821.
Reviews / Votes
"Interweaving historical and political analyses, Van Cleve demonstrates, in this account, that slavery was an essential part of the foundation of the American republic." (History Today)"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Dimensions
Height: 23 mm
Width: 16 mm
Thickness: 3 mm
Weight
709 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-84668-2 (9780226846682)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

George William Van Cleve
Slaveholders' Union
Slavery, Politics, and the Constitution in the Early American Republic
E-Book
10/2010
1st Edition
University of Chicago Press
€36.19
Available for download
Person
George William Van Cleve is Scholar-in-Residence in the Department of History at the University of Virginia.