Creating a More Perfect Slaveholders' Union: Slavery, the Constitution, and Secession in Antebellum America

Addresses two constitutional issues: first, whether the states in 1860 had a right to secede from the Union and second, what significance slavery had in defining the constitutional Union. These two matters came together when the states seceded on the grounds that the system of government they had agreed to had been violated.

Format: Hardback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 31 October 2023
Publisher: University Press of Kansas

In Texas v. White (1869), the United States Supreme Court declared the unilateral secession of a state from the Union to be unconstitutional, asserting that the Constitution established an indestructible Union composed of indestructible States. The Court firmly stated that there was no avenue for reconsideration or revocation, except through revolution or the consent of the States.

In his groundbreaking work, Peter Radan challenges the validity of this ruling and argues that, based on American constitutional law in 1860–1861, the unilateral secessions of the Confederate states were lawful. Radan's book addresses two critical constitutional issues: first, whether the states had the right to secede from the Union, and second, the significance of slavery in defining the constitutional Union. These two matters converged when the states seceded, claiming that the incoming Republican administration had violated the system of government they had agreed upon, which was based on human enslavement.

The legitimacy of this secession was rooted in the compact theory of the Constitution, which held that the Constitution was a compact between the member states of the Union. Breaches of its fundamental provisions granted affected states the right to unilaterally secede from the Union. In essence, the Confederate states sought to preserve and protect their peculiar institution by forming a more perfect slaveholders Union.

Creating a More Perfect Slaveholders Union is a pioneering and comprehensive analysis of the legal arguments presented for and against secession in 1860–1861. It reshapes our understanding of the Civil War and its aftermath. By examining the constitutional issues at play, Radan sheds light on the complex and contentious debates surrounding secession and its impact on American history. This book is a valuable contribution to the study of the Civil War and constitutional law, providing a fresh perspective on a pivotal period in American history.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780700635801