Give Me Liberty!: Volume 1

In 1855, American sculptor Thomas Crawford was commissioned to design a statue for the still-unfinished Capitol dome in Washington, DC. He chose to depict “Freedom” as a female figure adorned with a liberty cap, a symbol associated with freed enslaved persons in ancient Rome and the French Revolution.

However, Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War and a significant enslaver, objected to the liberty cap because of its implications regarding enslaved freedom and its historical symbolism. He insisted on replacing the cap with a military helmet. Crawford passed away in Italy in 1857, and the Statue of Freedom was completed under the supervision of Philip Reed, an enslaved craftsman, and installed in 1863 atop the Capitol.

By then, the US was deep into the Civil War, and Davis had become the president of the Confederacy. The authors present this episode to underscore how the national debate over enslavement, and in turn freedom, influenced even artistic and architectural decisions during this period.

Fruits of Manifest Destiny

In the 1840s, the US witnessed significant territorial expansion, largely influenced by the concept of “manifest destiny,” the belief that the nation was destined to expand across the continent. The authors explain how this expansion brought settlers to Oregon and California, facing hardships such as disease and geographical barriers. The settlement of these territories, particularly in Oregon, initially did not provoke enslavement debates. However, the acquisition of lands like California and New Mexico from Mexico raised concerns about the balance between free and enslaved states, which highlights that the national conflict over enslavement was at the heart of The Evolving Concept of American Freedom.

A Dose of Arsenic

The authors discuss how the territorial gains from the Mexican-American War introduced over 1 million square miles into the Union, reigniting the contentious issue of enslavement’s expansion westward. This development fractured political alliances, exemplified by the Wilmot Proviso’s attempt to ban enslavement in the newly acquired territories.

The creation of the Free Soil Party in 1848, which opposed the expansion of enslavement, and the subsequent Compromise of 1850, aimed to address these tensions, but ultimately set the stage for further national conflicts. The Compromise included measures like the Fugitive Slave Act, which was met with significant resistance in the North.

The Rise of the Republican Party

The 1850s saw transformative economic and social changes in the North, catalyzing the rise of the Republican Party. The expansion of the railroad network facilitated economic and political unity between the Northeast and the Northwest, paving the way for the party’s emergence.

The party capitalized on the burgeoning ideology of “free labor,” which contrasted the opportunities in a free society against the restrictive, enslaved labor-based economy of the South. The Republicans’ stance against the expansion of enslavement gained further legitimacy through events such as “Bleeding Kansas” and the violent political confrontations in Congress, setting a firm foundation for their ascendancy in Northern politics, and highlighting The Significance of Diverse Groups in America.

The Emergence of Lincoln

The authors detail how Abraham Lincoln’s rise to prominence was marked by his opposition to the expansion of enslavement, a position that resonated in the North amidst the escalating national crisis over enslavement. The Dred Scott decision of 1857, which denied citizenship and rights to African Americans and declared the federal government powerless to regulate enslavement in the territories, only deepened the divide.

Lincoln’s debates with Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 further highlighted his stance against enslavement’s expansion, propelling him into the national spotlight and setting the stage for his 1860 presidential candidacy. Lincoln’s election, underscored by his exclusion from the Southern ballots, marked a decisive moment in US history, directly leading to the secession of Southern states and the onset of the Civil War.

The Impending Crisis

Lincoln’s election triggered the secession of seven Southern states, creating a formidable challenge for the incoming administration. The Southern states then formed the Confederate States of America, fundamentally challenging the unity of the nation. Lincoln’s inaugural address sought to reconcile the divided nation by asserting the illegality of secession while promising not to interfere with enslavement where it existed.

However, the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, following Lincoln’s attempt to resupply the fort, resulted in open conflict, with Lincoln calling for troops to suppress the rebellion, leading to the rapid secession of additional Southern states. This marked the beginning of the Civil War, which the authors view as fundamentally transforming the American political landscape and defining the struggle over enslavement and federal authority, illustrating The Impact of Social Movements and Political Conflicts on Liberty.