Reviews
"...historical narratives flow well because of Professor Ashworth's competent writing style." Civil War History, "John Ashworth's ^Slavery, Capitalism, and Politics in the Antebellum Republic is an attractive mixture of old-fashioned history with new scholarly trends....In addition to his skillful summaries of a wide range of litertaure, Ashworth has added to his own impressive work on Jacksonian ideology by linking the controversies of earlier decades to the crisis that exploded in civil war. When the second volume of this work is completed Slavery, Capitalism, and Politics will stand as the most comprehensive work to have traced the ideological flowerings of the 1850's to their Jeffersonian roots." Bill Cecil-Fronsman, H-Net Reviews, ..."an ambitious and imaginative model of Civil war causality....makeÝs¨ a compelling case for Ashworth's Marxist style of cultural history, as well as for a more complex understanding of why the Union fell apart with Lincoln's election." Seth Rockman, Maryland Historical Magazine, "Ashworth's Slavery, Capitalism, and Politics is a major contribution to American antebellum historiography." Robert E. Wright, Southern Historian, "...Slavery, Capitalism, and Politics is an engaging work that should force a re-examination of antebellum political history. Even those who disagree with elements of Ashworth's analysis or with his premises will find the volume a useful statement of a contradictory position. It is a major work with which all historians in the field will have to reckon." Bill Cecil-Fronsman, H-Net Reviews, "...a comprehensive, almost encyclopedic, examination of political ideology from Andrew Jackson's presidency to the firing on Fort Sumter." -James L. Huston, The Journal of Southern History, "John Ashworth's explanation of the coming of the Civil War is intellectually attractive, structurally elaborate, and inadequately elaborated for so ambitious a book." -Lawrence T. McDonnell, The Journal of American History, "Ashworth's ^Slavery, Capitalism, and Politics is a major contribution to American antebellum historiography." Robert E. Wright, Southern Historian, ' ... a significant contribution to our critical understanding of the structure of the ante-bellum Southern USA ... well written and researched an would be of general interest to anyone wishing to become acquainted with issues of the Ante-bellum South'. Capital & Class, "To undertake a new study of the causes of the American Civil War is audacious, but John Ashworth has brought off a truly impressive achievement. Whether discussing the ideology of abolitionism, the impact of capitalism on social life, or the social origins of the slavery controversy, Ashworth offers original insights in a field already plowed by many historians." Eric Foner, Columbia University, "...a different and exciting insight into the crucial role of enslaved African Americans as active participants in historical change. This study is highly recommended reading for Old South and African American scholars seeking to understand the relationship between American slave resistance, northern wage labor ideology, and the development of nineteenth-century capitalism." The North Carolina Historical Review, "...an ambitious and imaginative model of Civil war causality....make[s] a compelling case for Ashworth's Marxist style of cultural history, as well as for a more complex understanding of why the Union fell apart with Lincoln's election." Seth Rockman, Maryland Historical Magazine, "...the broad outlines of Ashworth's work are consistent with the bulk of modern scholarship and resonate well with the contemporary evidence. His concluding volume will be eagerly awaited." Harry L. Watson, Georgia Historical Quarterly
