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RESISTING THE SLAVOCRACY: THE BOSTON VIGILANCE COMMITTEE’S ROLE IN THE CREATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, 1846-1860

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Date Issued:
2020
Abstract/Description:
Republicanism, a long-standing ideology, which embodied political liberty, virtue, and constitutional law, shaped America’s political culture from the country’s inception. The Republican Party’s formation in the 1850s was no exception to this rule. Paying close attention to the social and political climate in Massachusetts, this thesis will journey through the United States’ turbulent antebellum years and examine how the abolitionist organization known as the Boston Vigilance Committee (BVC) fashioned the contours of this anti-slavery party. Although scholars debate the committee’s origins, by 1846 members increased and expanded their activism in protecting escaped slaves from being returned to slavery and in assisting fugitives to freedom. By standing on moral, economic, and legal ground, Vigilance Committee members transformed Boston’s political culture and helped mobilize Northern support for an anti-slavery agenda that founded the Republican party and ultimately culminated in slavery’s eventual demise.
Title: RESISTING THE SLAVOCRACY: THE BOSTON VIGILANCE COMMITTEE’S ROLE IN THE CREATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, 1846-1860.
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Name(s): McGee, Yasmin K. , author
Engle, Stephen , Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of History
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2020
Date Issued: 2020
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 96 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Republicanism, a long-standing ideology, which embodied political liberty, virtue, and constitutional law, shaped America’s political culture from the country’s inception. The Republican Party’s formation in the 1850s was no exception to this rule. Paying close attention to the social and political climate in Massachusetts, this thesis will journey through the United States’ turbulent antebellum years and examine how the abolitionist organization known as the Boston Vigilance Committee (BVC) fashioned the contours of this anti-slavery party. Although scholars debate the committee’s origins, by 1846 members increased and expanded their activism in protecting escaped slaves from being returned to slavery and in assisting fugitives to freedom. By standing on moral, economic, and legal ground, Vigilance Committee members transformed Boston’s political culture and helped mobilize Northern support for an anti-slavery agenda that founded the Republican party and ultimately culminated in slavery’s eventual demise.
Identifier: FA00013459 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Vigilance Committee (Boston, Mass )
Republican Party (U S : 1854- )
Slavery & anti-slavery
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013459
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.