Tennessee's fiercely competitive two-party politics during the late antebellum era roused extraordinary popular interest and molded leaders of national stature. Better than any previous historian, Jonathan Atkins explains why voters in the Volunteer State responded so enthusiastically to partisan appeals. -- Daniel W. Crofts, Trenton State CollegeIn this thought-provoking study, Jonathan M. Atkins provides a fresh look at the partisan ideological battles that marked the political culture of antebellum Tennessee. He argues that the legacy of party politics was a key factor in shaping...

In this thought-provoking study, Jonathan M. Atkins provides a fresh look at the partisan ideological battles that marked the political culture of antebellum Tennessee. He argues that the legacy of party politics was a key factor in shaping Tennessee's hesitant course during the crisis of Union in 1860-61.
Between the Jacksonian era and the outbreak of the Civil War, Atkins demonstrates, the competition between Democrats and Whigs in Tennessee was as heated as any in the country. The conflict centered largely on differing conceptions of republican liberty and each party's contention that...