Kentucky Rising: Democracy, Slavery, and Culture from the Early Republic to the Civil War

James A. Ramage, Andrea S. Watkins

University Press of Kentucky, Nov 4, 2011 - History - 480 pages

Kentucky's first settlers brought with them a dedication to democracy and a sense of limitless hope about the future. Determined to participate in world progress in science, education, and manufacturing, Kentuckians wanted to make the United States a great nation. They strongly supported the War of 1812, and Kentucky emerged as a model of patriotism and military spirit. Kentucky Rising: Democracy, Slavery, and Culture from the Early Republic to the Civil War offers a new synthesis of the sixty years before the Civil War. James A. Ramage and Andrea S. Watkins explore this crucial but often overlooked period, finding that the early years of statehood were an era of great optimism and progress. Drawing on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, Ramage and Watkins demonstrate that the eyes of the nation often focused on Kentucky, which was perceived as a leader among the states before the Civil War. Globally oriented Kentuckians were determined to transform the frontier into a network of communities exporting to the world market and dedicated to the new republic. Kentucky Rising offers a valuable new perspective on the eras of slavery and the Civil War. This book is a copublication with the Kentucky Historical Society.

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• 1 Henry Clay Part One: 17
• 2 Henry Clay Part Two: 37
• 3 Art and Architecture: 60
• 4 Politics Stump Speaking and How the West Was Won: 82
• 5 Half Horse and Half Alligator: 97
• 6 Steamboats Entertainment Journalism and Culture: 129
• 7 Religion and Women: 148
• 8 Mexican War: 170
• 9 Surgery Medical Botany and Science: 187
• Photo Insert: 192
• 10 Calomel Cholera and Science: 215
• 11 The Experience of Slavery: 236
• 12 The Politics of Slavery: 257
• 13 Civil War Part One: 277
• 14 Civil War Part Two: 297
• 15 Civil War Part Three: 314
• Epilogue: 336
• Acknowledgments: 349
• Notes: 353
• Bibliography: 401
• Index: 419

About the author

James A. Ramage, Regents Professor of History at Northern Kentucky University, is the author of John Wesley Hunt: Pioneer Merchant, Manufacturer, and Financier and Rebel Raider: The Life of General John Hunt Morgan. Andrea S. Watkins is assistant professor of history at Northern Kentucky University.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Kentucky Rising: Democracy, Slavery, and Culture from the Early Republic to the Civil War
• Authors: James A. Ramage, Andrea S. Watkins
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky, 2011
• ISBN: 0813134412, 9780813134413
• Length: 480 pages
• Subjects: History / Social History; History / United States / 19th Century; History / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)