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Political Violence, Violent Politics: Protestant Democrats and Republicans at War in Virginia, 1862
Author(s) -
MATSUI JOHN H.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.12
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1468-229X
pISSN - 0018-2648
DOI - 10.1111/1468-229x.12237
Subject(s) - millenarianism , proclamation , politics , ideology , protestantism , emancipation , status quo , political science , democracy , political economy , economic history , law , sociology , history
Northern Democrats desired to restore the American Union to the status quo antebellum, while Republicans sought to transform the United States, and especially the slave‐owning southern states, into a free labour, industrialized nation. So runs the traditional tale. This article argues that a new twist on the story of sectional politics may be found if one adds the religious dimension of millenarian belief to the well‐studied ideological flashpoints between Democratic and Republican combatants as they clashed in Virginia in the year leading up to the issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.