Border war : fighting over slavery before the Civil War

During the 1840s and 1850s, a dangerous ferment afflicted the North-South border region, pitting the slave states of Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri against the free states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Aspects of this struggle--the underground railroad, enforcement of the fugitive slave laws, mob actions, and sectional politics--are well known as parts of other stories. Here, Stanley Harrold explores the border struggle itself, the dramatic incidents that comprised it, and its role in the complex dynamics leading to the Civil War.

• Preface p. xi
• Introduction Perception of War p. 1
• 1 Early Clashes p. 17
• 2 Fear and Reaction in the Border South p. 35
• 3 Southern Aggression in the Lower North p. 53
• 4 Interstate Diplomacy p. 72
• 5 Fighting against Slavery in the Lower North p. 94
• 6 The Struggle for the Border South p. 116
• 7 Fighting over the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 p. 138
• 8 Pressure on the Border South Increases p. 159
• 9 From Border War to Civil War p. 183
• Conclusion p. 209
• Notes p. 215
• Bibliography p. 263
• Index p. 285