Slavery, Freedom and the Expansion in the Early American West

Hammond (history, Purdue U. Calumet) shifts his study of early American slavery away from political centers such as Philadelphia and Washington and into the west of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri, demonstrating how the demands of western settlers and local popular politics shaped the fate of slavery in the west between 1790 and 1820. The author also provides a thorough analysis of the Missouri Controversy of 1819, showing that it was not a sudden awakening to the problem by the northern Republicans, and uses this event to illustrate how the problem of slavery expansion changed from a local or western problem to a national dilemma that would eventually lead to war. Hammond broadly sections his book by geographic area, with an introduction focused on slavery, freedom, and expansion 1787-1820, as well as an opening chapter on ordinances, limits, and precedents 1784-1796. This title is recommended not only for those interested in the early Republic but also as a strong backbone for Civil War studies. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

John Craig Hammond is Assistant Professor of History at Penn State Univrsity, New Kensington.