Freedom's Crescent
The Civil War and the Destruction of Slavery in the Lower Mississippi Valley

A sweeping history of the Lower Mississippi Valley and its central role in abolishing slavery in the American South.

John C. Rodrigue (Author)

9781108424097, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 January 2023

528 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 3.6 cm, 0.94 kg

'A sweeping examination of one of the war's most important theaters, this book highlights the integral role this region played in transforming United States history … a possible career magnum opus.' Andrew Wagenhoffer, Civil War Books and Authors (https://cwba.blogspot.com/2023/02/booknotes-freedoms-crescent.html)

The Lower Mississippi Valley is more than just a distinct geographical region of the United States; it was central to the outcome of the Civil War and the destruction of slavery in the American South. Beginning with Lincoln's 1860 presidential election and concluding with the final ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, Freedom's Crescent explores the four states of this region that seceded and joined the Confederacy: Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. By weaving into a coherent narrative the major military campaigns that enveloped the region, the daily disintegration of slavery in the countryside, and political developments across the four states and in Washington DC, John C. Rodrigue identifies the Lower Mississippi Valley as the epicenter of emancipation in the South. A sweeping examination of one of the war's most important theaters, this book highlights the integral role this region played in transforming United States history.

Introduction
Prologue
Life – and labor – on the Mississippi
Part I. From War for Union to Military Emancipation, 1860–1862: 1. 'An independent power'
2. Of stampedes and free papers
3. 'Broken eggs cannot be mended'
4. 'The unsatisfactory prospect before them'
Part II. From Military Emancipation to State Abolition, 1863: 5. 'The return of the seceded states to this Union as slave states'
6. 'Repugnant to the spirit of the age'
7. 'The greatest question ever presented to practical statesmanship'
8. 'The name of 'slavery''
9. 'Repudiating the emancipation proclamation and reestablishing slavery'
Part III. Abolition: State and Federal, 1864: 10. 'Slavery is incompatible with a republican form of government'
11. Of foul combinations and the common object
12. 'The jewel of liberty'
13. 'The virus of slavery is as virulent as it ever was'
14. 'No longer slaves but freedmen'
15. 'So long as a spark of vitality remains in the institution of slavery'
16. 'Freedom, full, broad and unconditional'
17. 'To resolve never again to be reduced to slavery'
Part IV. The Destruction of Slavery, 1865: 18. 'The tyrants rod has been broken'
19. 'This cup of liberty'
20. 'Establish things as they were before the war'
21. 'The institution of slavery having been destroyed'
22. 'Americans in America, one and indivisible'
Epilogue: Memphis and New Orleans: May 1–3, and July 30, 1866.

Subject Areas: American Civil War [HBWJ], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], History of the Americas [HBJK]