For the secession crisis, I relied on a number of primary sources, two of which were included as an appendix to Charles B. Dew's Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Cause of the Civil War (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2001). These included: a speech in pamphlet form titled Address of Hon. W. L. Harris, Commissioner from the State of Mississippi, Delivered before the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, on Monday, Dec. 17th, 1860 (Milledgeville, Georgia, 1860); and Letter of Stephen F. Hale, commissioner from Alabama, to Governor Beriah Magoffin of Kentucky, Dec. 27, 1860.
I also looked at secession documents in The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington, D.C., 1880–1902), focusing mainly on Vol. 1, available through the Cornell University Making of America series at http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/m/moawar/waro.html (accessed frequently). Also, see Yale Law School's Lillian Goldman Law Library's The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy, which includes: Confederate State of America: Declaration of Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union at http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp (accessed frequently); and The Civil War Trust's “Secession Acts of the Thirteen Confederate States” at http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/secessionacts.html (accessed frequently).
Secondary Sources
ARTICLES, ESSAYS, PERIODICALS
Nearly countless articles and essays have been written about this broad topic. However, I relied on the following for direct references and background reading:
Brooks, Elaine. “Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.” Journal of Negro History, 30, no. 3 (July 1945), 311–330.
Deppisch, Ludwig, M.D. “The National Hotel Disease.” The Grog Ration: A Publication of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), 4, no. 1 (January–February 2009), 1–5.
Fellman, Michael. “Theodore Parker and the Abolitionist Role in the 1850s.” Journal of American History 61, no. 3 (December 1974), 666–684.
Johnson, Linck C. “Liberty Is Never Cheap: Emerson, the Fugitive Slave Law, and the Antislavery Lecture Series at the Broadway Tabernacle.” New England Quarterly, 76 (December 2003), 550–592.
Levy, Leonard W. “Sims' Case: The Fugitive Slave Law in Boston in 1851.” Journal of Negro History, 34, no. 1 (January 1950), 39–74.
Loewen, James W. “The First to Secede.” American Heritage, 6, no. 4 (Winter 2011), 13–16.
Pease, Jane H., and William H. Pease. “Confrontation and Abolitionism in the 1850s.” Journal of American History, 58, no. 4 (March 1971), 923–937.
Von Drehle, David. “The Civil War 1861–2011: The Way We Weren't.” Time (April 18, 2011), 40–51.
Vose, Caroline E. “Jefferson Davis in New England.” Virginia Quarterly Review (Autumn 1926), 557–568, accessed February 6, 2012 at http://www.vqronline.org/articles/1926/autumn/vose-jefferson-davis/
BOOKS
In addition to the books already listed that cover the abolitionist movement, I found helpful Tilden G. Edelstein's Strange Enthusiasm: A Life of Thomas Wentworth Higginson (New York: Atheneum, 1970), a work about one of Boston's most militant abolitionists; Louis Filler, The Crusade Against Slavery, 1830–1860 (New York: Harper and Row, 1960); Henry Mayer's comprehensive and electrifying biography All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery (New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1998); my own A City So Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850–1900 (Boston: Beacon Press, 2010); and Wendy Hamand Venet's Neither Ballots nor Bullets: Women Abolitionists and the Civil War (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1991).
For books focusing on secession, I relied on some outstanding works, including: Shearer Davis Bowman, At the Precipice: Americans North and South During the Secession Crisis (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010); Steven A. Channing, Crisis of Fear: Secession in South Carolina (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970); David Detzer's fast-moving Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Beginning of the Civil War (New York: Harcourt, 2001); Charles B. Dew's dramatic overview of one of America's most dramatic three-month time periods, Apostles of Disunion (see citation in the “Primary Sources” section of this topic); Clifford Dowdey, The Land They Fought For: The Story of the South as the Confederacy 1832–1865 (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1955), William W. Freehling's excellent overview, The Road to Disunion (Vol. II): Secessionists Triumphant (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007); Maury Klein, Days of Defiance: Sumter, Secession, and the Coming of the Civil War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997); Nelson D. Lankford, Cry Havoc! The Crooked Road to Civil War, 1861 (New York: Penguin Books, 2007), in which he examines the unlikely confluence of events that had to—and did—coalesce to lead to war; and Robert Rosen, A Short History of Charleston (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1982).
I was also assisted immeasurably by comprehensive works that focused specifically on slavery. These included: John W. Blassingame, Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), which discusses the rich cultural and family life that many slaves deliberately kept hidden from their masters; David Brion Davis's excellent Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006); Anne Farrow, Joel Lang, and Jennifer Frank, Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery (New York: Ballantine Books, 2005), which makes many of the same arguments as Preston Brooks and other slave-owners; Don Fehrenbacher, The Slaveholding Republic: An Account of the United States Government's Relations to Slavery (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), which focuses on U.S. proslavery policies; Eugene D. Genovese's classic and exhaustive analysis of slavery, Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made (New York: Random House, 1972); Peter Kolchin's synthesis of 250 years of slavery in America, American Slavery: 1619–1877 (New York: Hill and Wang, 1993); and Stephen Yafa's study of the crop that made slavery's continuance possible and profitable, Big Cotton: How a Humble Fiber Created Fortunes, Wrecked Civilizations, and Put America on the Map (New York: Viking, 2005).
Works by some of America's best historians provided me with insights on the run-up to the Civil War. These works included Bruce Catton, The Coming Fury (New York: Doubleday & Company, 1961); Catton's This Hallowed Ground: The Story of the Union Side of the Civil War (New York: Doubleday & Company, 1955), in which the author maintains that Preston Brooks's assault on Charles Sumner was the first blow of the Civil War; William and Bruce Catton, Two Roads to Sumter (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963); and Avery Craven, The Coming of the Civil War (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1942). Also, David Donald followed his classic Sumner biography with a magnificent biography years later of our sixteenth president, simply titled Lincoln (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995).
For a valuable summary on the 1856 and 1860 presidential campaigns, I turned to William A. DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents: From George Washington to Bill Clinton (New York: Wing Books, 1993). For a discussion on how trade and production drew the nation closer to civil war, see Marc Egnal, Clash of Extremes: The Economic Origins of the Civil War (New York: Hill and Wang, 2009); Ernest B. Furgurson details the chaos in the nation's capital during the war in Freedom Rising: Washington in the Civil War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004); and I found invaluable Constance McLaughlin Green's Washington: Village and Capital, 1800–1878 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1962), to get a feel for life and conditions in D.C. during the caning years. Michael F. Holt provided political context for the slavery extension debate in The Fate of Their Country: Politicians, Slavery Extension, and the Coming of the Civil War (New York: Hill and Wang, 2004). J. William Jones published an 1890 family-authorized book on the president of the Confederacy that I found helpful, entitled The Davis Memorial Volume of our Dead President, Jefferson Davis, and the World's Tribute to His Memory (Richmond, Va.: R. F. Johnson); and Colonel Alexander K. McClure,
Recollections of Half a Century (Salem, Mass.: Salem Press Company, 1902) offered context on America in the latter half of the nineteenth century, including the Civil War run-up and the conflict itself.
It is hard to imagine learning about the Civil War or its causes without consulting James M. McPherson's one-volume masterpiece, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988). Nor is it possible to overlook Allan Nevins in the pantheon of great Civil War historians. I consulted his The Emergence of Lincoln (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1950); and his two-volume Ordeal of the Union epic: Fruits of Manifest Destiny, 1847–1852 and A House Dividing, 1852–1857 (both New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947). For Boston's role in the Civil War, the standard-bearer is Thomas H. O'Connor's Civil War Boston: Home Front & Battlefield (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1997).
Finally, for other fine and important books on the national run-up to war, see David M. Potter, The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861 (New York: Harper, 1976); Kenneth M. Stampp, America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990); Stampp, The Imperiled Union: Essays on the Background of the Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980); Erich H. Walther, The Shattering of the Union: America in the 1850s (Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 2004); and Paul I. Wellman, The House Divides: The Age of Jackson and Lincoln, from the War of 1812 to the Civil War (New York: Doubleday & Company, 1966).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As an author, I have been blessed in so many ways, not the least of which is the help, counsel, and support I've received from so many people throughout the course of my career. This is my fifth book and, I am profoundly grateful to those whose assistance has made my work easier and better. I've been thinking about and, in one way or another, working on The Caning for a long time. The drama and far-reaching implications of the event have always captured my imagination, and I've longed to move the story from my head to the printed (or electronic) page. I appreciate the contributions of everyone who has made this journey with me and helped make this book a reality.
I want to offer thanks to the staff in the Microtext Division at the Boston Public Library for their help with the Charles Sumner papers (see my Bibliographic Essay for the description on this revealing trove of documents). At the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS), I appreciate the efforts of Peter Drummey, who assisted me with the repository's Charles Sumner Papers and Theodore Parker Papers, and Anne Bentley, MHS curator of art, who provided me with images of Charles Sumner.
A large portion of the research for The Caning took place in South Carolina, and I'm pleased to say that Southern hospitality is alive and well in the Palmetto State.
In Columbia, I'm deeply indebted to the staff at the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina (USC). Curator of Manuscripts Henry Fulmer, Manuscript Specialist Graham Duncan, and Electronic Access Archivist Brian Cuthrell made it a pleasure to go through the Preston Brooks Papers and Milledge Bonham Papers, and to just spend some enjoyable time in their historic and superb repository. Their knowledge was deep and they answered questions patiently and thoroughly—it is hard for a researcher to ask for more. Special thanks to Graham for his tour of the famed USC “Horseshoe” and to Brian for his restaurant recommendations.
Also, my thanks to Jill Beute Koverman, chief curator of collections and research at USC's McKissick Museum, for opening up the institution's vaults so I could get a look at the goblet that Columbians presented to Preston Brooks in 1856.
In Edgefield, the research experience was so pleasurable that I had to pinch myself to be sure I wasn't dreaming. First and foremost, my deepest gratitude goes to Bettis Rainsford, historian for the Edgefield County Historical Society, who knows more about Preston Brooks than any man alive, and is also the proprietor of a fine establishment, the Old Edgefield Grill, where I enjoyed my first delicious meal of shrimp and grits (this Bostonian is now hooked). Bettis made available to me his personal collection of Preston Brooks documents, and also offered invaluable information about Brooks and Edgefield during a lengthy tour of the town, the Willowbrook Cemetery (where Brooks is buried), and the now privately owned historic houses where Brooks and his family members lived. Bettis had no idea who I was until I set foot in Edgefield for the first time, yet he treated me as though I were an old friend and renowned historian. I am forever grateful for his enormous help on this project.
Elsewhere in Edgefield, I would like to thank County Archivist Tricia Price Glenn, who assisted me with the Preston Brooks estate documents; John Gerrard, director of the Edgefield County Discovery Center, who introduced me to Bettis Rainsford; Hugh and Lisa Bland, who now live in one of Preston Brooks's former homes (Tomkins House) and opened their doors at dinnertime for a tour; Helen Feltham, who lives at Brooks's first home (Sweetbriar), and also graciously opened her house for a visit; and Tim and Beth Worth (Halycon Grove house), who also opened their home, which was once owned by Preston Brooks's two aunts. Thanks to all of these people who helped Preston Brooks come alive for me.
As always, I am thankful for the contributions and support of so many friends and family members whose interest and encouragement keep me going and make me a better author. I wish I could list everyone, but that's impossible—for now, I need to mention three very special people for their contributions.
My dear friend Paula Hoyt, who regularly edits and proofreads my work, once again lent her outstanding talents to this manuscript. I know I am in good hands anytime Paula reviews my writing; she always makes it better, for which I am enormously grateful (as is my publisher). Paula also created, manages, and writes content for my website (stephenpuleo.com), and she is responsible for dragging me (gently) into the Facebook age (facebook.com/stephenpuleoauthor), which I've found valuable as a way to connect with readers. I'm so thankful for Paula's constancy, sound judgment, spot-on recommendations, and wide-ranging communications abilities; and much more thankful for the gift of her friendship.
It is hard to quantify the contributions of my wonderful and longtime friend Ellen Keefe, and certainly impossible to list them all here. She also reads all of my work in advance; promotes my books to her family, friends, and colleagues; supports me at my presentations; offers wise counsel on writing and virtually any other topic; helps me with research; and is always there to provide personal or professional support. For this book, Ellen took her research assistance to a new level, accompanying me on the South Carolina leg of the journey, and helping me pore through the Preston Brooks records in Columbia and Edgefield. I can't thank her enough for her contributions to my “author life,” nor will I ever be able to thank her enough for the enduring love and friendship she provides to my family and me.
I was thrilled to work on this book with my wonderful niece, Rachel Brevich, who holds a degree in history and has proven to be an excellent researcher. Rachel examined hundreds of letters to and from Charles Sumner and did an extraordinary job analyzing the Sumner Papers. She brings all of the qualities of the best researchers to her work: diligence, thoroughness, perseverance, attention to detail, shrewd instincts, an understanding of the big picture, and an innate sense of what's important (and what's not). I am immensely proud of Rachel for her great work on The Caning, but even more so, for the intelligent, thoughtful, loving person she has become.
I want to thank my editor, Bruce H. Franklin, at Westholme Publishing, for his support for this book from the beginning. An author's life is always easier when he knows his publisher recognizes the full value of the work and is enthused about bringing it to readers. Bruce has expressed both of these sentiments throughout this project.
I am grateful to have the world's best agent, Joy Tutela, represent me. This is our fifth book together, and Joy and I have been a team for nearly twelve years. I couldn't ask for a stronger, smarter, more supportive and loyal partner and friend. Joy worked closely with me to polish the proposal for this book, and then found it a good home. She is a pro in every sense of the word and
has believed in me from day one. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay her is this: she has helped me live my dream.
My mom, Rose Puleo, provided her constant interest, encouragement, and love throughout the writing of this book. She had to do double duty: this is the first complete project I've worked on without being able to share it with my dad, Anthony Puleo, who died nearly four years ago. Throughout the research and writing, I felt dad's comforting presence on my shoulder and in my heart, and I count my blessings that mom is able to share with me daily her own wisdom, strength, and support. For all they've done and continue to do, I will never be able to thank my parents enough.
And finally, I offer my most profound thanks and deepest love to my “First Lady,” Kate, to whom this book—and my life—is dedicated. I'm an author, but I have no adequate words to describe how much she does for me or how much she means to me. As we are in most things, we are partners in book-writing: she is a sounding board for ideas, a thoughtful adviser, and a skilled editor and proofreader who also reads my manuscripts before I submit them to the publisher. On a grander scale, Kate is an inspiration to me. She welcomes new challenges (she became a principal recently after more than thirty years as a fifth-grade classroom teacher), offers remarkable support and encouragement to others, maintains a contagiously optimistic outlook on life, and loves her friends, family, faith, and me. She makes those around her (especially me) better people. She is my best friend, fills me with joy each day, and has always instilled in me the belief that anything is possible. For more than thirty years, her love has been my greatest source of strength and peace. I am truly blessed.
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