Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Goff, Brendan

Keywords

Nationalism, Political Economy, American Civil War

Area of Concentration

History

Abstract

This thesis has been a long time in the making, and reflects, to a certain extent, my divided focus as a history student at New College. It draws heavily on research from both U.S. and European history � two disciplines that are not often made to work together. I have attempted in the following pages to compare the experience of the American Civil War � a period of profound political transformation � to Europe's experience with national unification movements. My analysis combines a close reading of primary documents with a review of the relevant secondary source material. In the category of primary sources, the Congres-sional Globe (the definitive congressional record for most of the period under study) has been particularly useful. As this thesis is, first and foremost, a political history, I have also made the most of political party platforms and other campaign materials, public speeches, and so on. Appended are a number of cartoons and illustrations from the immediate buildup to the Civil War. Secondary source material serves to round out the argument and to aid the reader in utilizing the evidence provided. It has also been mined for primary sources, many of which have been presented second-hand � particularly where foreign sources are concerned. While the United States remains front and center in my analysis, my findings should be of interest to historians in both European and American history. The American Civil War was a world-historical event, and I have attempted wherever possible to shed light on the patterns it shares in common with similar events across Europe.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

Download

Share

COinS