A Strife of Tongues: The Compromise of 1850 and the Ideological Foundations of the American Civil War

A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era

by Stephen E. Maizlish

Near the end of a nine-month confrontation preceding the Compromise of 1850, Abraham Venable warned his fellow congressmen that "words become things." Indeed, in politics―then, as now―rhetoric makes reality. But while the legislative maneuvering, factional alignments, and specific measures of the Compromise of 1850 have been exhaustively studied, much of the language of the debate, where underlying beliefs and assumptions were revealed, has been neglected.

The Compromise of 1850 attempted to defuse confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War―which would be free, which would allow slavery, and how the Fugitive Slave Law would be enacted. A Strife of Tongues tells the cultural and intellectual history of this pivotal political event through the lens of language, revealing the complex context of northern and southern ideological opposition within which the Civil War occurred a decade later. Deftly drawing on extensive records, from public discourse to private letters, Stephen Maizlish animates the most famous political characters of the age in their own words. This novel account reveals a telling irony―that the Compromise debates of 1850 only made obvious the hardening of sectional division of ideology, which led to a breakdown in the spirit of compromise in the antebellum period and laid the foundations of the U.S. Civil War.

Genres: Civil War

346 pages, Hardcover

First published July 20, 2018

Reviews

[Maielle Merriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maizlish presents the debates of 1850 with commendable clarity, insight, and objectivity. This is an immensely revealing period of American history, and too often simplified. I found “A Strife of Tongues” is especially helpful as a student striving to understand general attitudes along with specific arguments and perspectives. Focusing on ideas and words, in addition to politics, it gives a sense of context and immediacy to the period. In the end, the book is not without poignancy, though I admit it was a challenge, however important for research, to read of the more extreme Southern defenses and accusations narrated with such scholarly restraint. Overall, this is a unique and essential contribution to the literature on antebellum America.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the issues that started ripping apart the nation ten years later. Has some unexpected insights.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review essay in Pacific Standard:

https://psmag.com/education/how-calls...

Check it out!