Full metadata
Title
Prigg v. Pennsylvania and the rising sectional tension of the 1840s
Prigg versus Pennsylvania and the rising sectional tension of the 1840s
Description
This thesis looks at the 1842 Supreme Court ruling of Prigg v. Pennsylvania, the events leading up to this case, and the subsequent legislative fallout from the decision. The Supreme Court rendered this ruling in an effort to clear up confusion regarding the conflict between state and federal law with regard to fugitive slave recovery. Instead, the ambiguities contained within the ruling further complicated the issue of fugitive slave recovery. This complication commenced when certain state legislatures exploited an inadvertent loophole contained in the ruling. Thus, instead of mollifying sectional tension by generating a clear and concise process of fugitive slave recovery, the Supreme Court exacerbated sectional tension. Through an analysis of newspapers, journals, laws and other contemporary sources, this thesis demonstrates that Prigg v. Pennsylvania and the subsequent legislative reactions garnered much attention. Through a review of secondary literature covering this period, a lack of demonstrable coverage of this court case emerges, which shows that scant coverage has been paid to this important episode in antebellum America. Additionally, the lack of attention paid to this court case ignores a critical episode of rising sectional tension during the 1840s.
Date Created
2010
Contributors
- Coughlin, John (Author)
- Schermerhorn, Calvin (Thesis advisor)
- O'Donnell, Catherine (Thesis advisor)
- Whitaker, Matthew (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
Geographic Subject
Resource Type
Extent
v, 77 p
Language
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.8669
Statement of Responsibility
by John Coughlin
Description Source
Viewed on June 13, 2012
Level of coding
full
Note
Partial requirement for: M.A., Arizona State University, 2010
Note type
thesis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-77)
Note type
bibliography
Field of study: History
System Created
- 2011-08-12 01:05:51
System Modified
- 2021-08-30 01:56:48
- 2 years 8 months ago
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