The Southern perception of the Trans-Mississippi West, 1845-1853

"This thesis examines the awareness and response of the slave states to the conditions and events in the Trans-Mississippi West from Texas Annexation through the Oregon Question, Mexican War, California Gold Rush, Compromise of 1850 to the Pacific Railroad and Gadsden Purchase. The people of the Southern states responded to these national issues of westward expansion from 1845 to 1853 as Americans. And as Americans, the partisan differences between Whig and Democrat and the regional conflict between Easterner and Westerner over the desirability, need and rate of expansion divided Southerners. On the potentially divisive issue of slavery expansion, most assumed that the role of slavery in the expansion process had been resolved earlier by the Missouri Compromise Line of 36$\sp\circ$30'. Most also assumed that slavery needed to expand to survive and in the environmental determinism of the ""natural law of slavery."""

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Dunning, David Michael

Contributors dc:contributor

• Johannsen, Robert W.

• History, United States
• Transportation

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1995 Dunning, David Michael

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

AAI9543574
(UMI)AAI9543574

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/22767