The California Gold Rush And the Coming of the Civil War - Hardcover

Richards, Leonard L.

3.61

214 ratings by Goodreads

9780307265203: The California Gold Rush And the Coming of the Civil War

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 030726520X ISBN 13: 9780307265203

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2007

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Reassesses the role of the California Gold Rush in the events and crises leading up to the Civil War, analyzing not only the hunger for gold, but also the squabbling over bringing California in as a slave state, the proposed division of the state into two regions, the political maneuverings and battles, and the economic factors involved. 15,000 first printing.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

" Richards, a leading historian of 19th century America superbly illuminates gold rush California as a land in contention between national pro- and anti- slavery lobbies in the decade leading up to the Civil War."
-- "Publishers Weekly "(starred review)
" Richards offers a broad panorama that moves seamlessly from the gold fields to the halls of congress. This is an excellent work of popular history that will add to the appreciation of a critical epoch in our national development."
-- "Booklist
"
" Brings to life a population of scheming officeholders, xenophobic Californians and frantic slaveholders, all of whom resorted to the ultimate frontier solution: violence.'
-- "Kirkus Reviews
"
" An engrossing chronicle of the political intrigues that engulfed California in the 1850s, when pro-Southern legislators there angled to turn the state' s newfound wealth to the benefit of the slave economy."
-- "The Atlantic
"
" The important back-story of the Gold Rush, according to gifted historian Leonard Richards, is political and racial. Mr. Richards contends in this insightful new book, "The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War" that for every fortune seeker who viewed California as a place to get rich discovering gold, another believed it a place to get rich exporting, utilizing, or trafficking in human slaves. . . . [A] gripping book."
-- "The New York Sun
"
" Richards meticulously catalogs details of 19th-century American legislation that nonspecilaists won' t have thought about since high school: the MissouriCompromise, the Gadsden Purchase, the Kansas-Nebraska Act. But when he places the actors center stage to reveal the motives behind the politics, the narrative approaches the Shakespearean."
-- "Tennessean
"
" With a mastery that brings even his bit players to life, Leonard Richards tells a gripping story about politics, business, violence, and the scoundrels who almost destroyed the United States. If you think you already know this story, you're in for some nice surprises. And if you don' t, there' s no better guide."
-- Robin L. Einhorn, author of "American Taxation, American Slavery
"" Leonard Richards has once again produced a wonderful, entertaining, and informative account of antebellum politics. Most important, he shows the myriad forces- greed, ambition, idealism, racism, patronage, migration, expansionism- that melded together to distance southerners from northerners. Any one reading this work will come away with a deep understanding of how the antagonism between free and slave labor systems constituted the volatile fuel that made the explosion of secession and civil war possible."
-- James L. Huston, author of "Calculating the Value of the Union: Slavery, Property Rights, and the Economic Origins of the Civil War
"" A truly rollicking book, full of colorful characters, duels, hard-rock miners, ' Chivs, ' and back-stabbing politics. But its readability belies the centrality of these seemingly minor characters to the drama of the nation' s sectional crisis. The Golden State can no longer be ignored by those wishing to tell the story of how the nation came tocivil war."
-- Jonathan H. Earle, author of "Jacksonian Antislavery and the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854"

"From the Hardcover edition."

Richards, a leading historian of 19th century America superbly illuminates gold rush California as a land in contention between national pro and anti slavery lobbies in the decade leading up to the Civil War.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Richards offers a broad panorama that moves seamlessly from the gold fields to the halls of congress. This is an excellent work of popular history that will add to the appreciation of a critical epoch in our national development.
Booklist

Brings to life a population of scheming officeholders, xenophobic Californians and frantic slaveholders, all of whom resorted to the ultimate frontier solution: violence.
Kirkus Reviews

An engrossing chronicle of the political intrigues that engulfed California in the 1850s, when pro-Southern legislators there angled to turn the state s newfound wealth to the benefit of the slave economy.
The Atlantic

The important back-story of the Gold Rush, according to gifted historian Leonard Richards, is political and racial. Mr. Richards contends in this insightful new book, The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War that for every fortune seeker who viewed California as a place to get rich discovering gold, another believed it a place to get rich exporting, utilizing, or trafficking in human slaves. . . . [A] gripping book.
The New York Sun

Richards meticulously catalogs details of 19th-century American legislation that nonspecilaists won t have thought about since high school: the Missouri Compromise, the Gadsden Purchase, the Kansas-Nebraska Act. But when he places the actors center stage to reveal the motives behind the politics, the narrative approaches the Shakespearean.
Tennessean

With a mastery that brings even his bit players to life, Leonard Richards tells a gripping story about politics, business, violence, and the scoundrels who almost destroyed the United States. If you think you already know this story, you're in for some nice surprises. And if you don t, there s no better guide.
Robin L. Einhorn, author of American Taxation, American Slavery
Leonard Richards has once again produced a wonderful, entertaining, and informative account of antebellum politics. Most important, he shows the myriad forces greed, ambition, idealism, racism, patronage, migration, expansionism that melded together to distance southerners from northerners. Any one reading this work will come away with a deep understanding of how the antagonism between free and slave labor systems constituted the volatile fuel that made the explosion of secession and civil war possible.
James L. Huston, author of Calculating the Value of the Union: Slavery, Property Rights, and the Economic Origins of the Civil War
A truly rollicking book, full of colorful characters, duels, hard-rock miners, Chivs, and back-stabbing politics. But its readability belies the centrality of these seemingly minor characters to the drama of the nation s sectional crisis. The Golden State can no longer be ignored by those wishing to tell the story of how the nation came to civil war.
Jonathan H. Earle, author of Jacksonian Antislavery and the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854

From the Hardcover edition."

"Richards, a leading historian of 19th century America superbly illuminates gold rush California as a land in contention between national pro- and anti-slavery lobbies in the decade leading up to the Civil War."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Richards offers a broad panorama that moves seamlessly from the gold fields to the halls of congress. This is an excellent work of popular history that will add to the appreciation of a critical epoch in our national development."
--Booklist

"Brings to life a population of scheming officeholders, xenophobic Californians and frantic slaveholders, all of whom resorted to the ultimate frontier solution: violence.'
--Kirkus Reviews

"An engrossing chronicle of the political intrigues that engulfed California in the 1850s, when pro-Southern legislators there angled to turn the state's newfound wealth to the benefit of the slave economy."
--The Atlantic

"The important back-story of the Gold Rush, according to gifted historian Leonard Richards, is political and racial. Mr. Richards contends in this insightful new book, The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War that for every fortune seeker who viewed California as a place to get rich discovering gold, another believed it a place to get rich exporting, utilizing, or trafficking in human slaves. . . . [A] gripping book."
--The New York Sun

"Richards meticulously catalogs details of 19th-century American legislation that nonspecilaists won't have thought about since high school: the Missouri Compromise, the Gadsden Purchase, the Kansas-Nebraska Act. But when he places the actors center stage to reveal the motives behind the politics, the narrative approaches the Shakespearean."
--Tennessean

"With a mastery that brings even his bit players to life, Leonard Richards tells a gripping story about politics, business, violence, and the scoundrels who almost destroyed the United States. If you think you already know this story, you're in for some nice surprises. And if you don't, there's no better guide."
--Robin L. Einhorn, author of American Taxation, American Slavery
"Leonard Richards has once again produced a wonderful, entertaining, and informative account of antebellum politics. Most important, he shows the myriad forces-greed, ambition, idealism, racism, patronage, migration, expansionism-that melded together to distance southerners from northerners. Any one reading this work will come away with a deep understanding of how the antagonism between free and slave labor systems constituted the volatile fuel that made the explosion of secession and civil war possible."
--James L. Huston, author of Calculating the Value of the Union: Slavery, Property Rights, and the Economic Origins of the Civil War
"A truly rollicking book, full of colorful characters, duels, hard-rock miners, 'Chivs, ' and back-stabbing politics. But its readability belies the centrality of these seemingly minor characters to the drama of the nation's sectional crisis. The Golden State can no longer be ignored by those wishing to tell the story of how the nation came to civil war."
--Jonathan H. Earle, author of Jacksonian Antislavery and the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854

From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author:

Leonard L. Richards, professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, took his degrees at the University of California, Berkeley and Davis. He has also taught at San Francisco State College and the University of Hawaii. His Gentlemen of Property and Standing: Anti-Abolition Mobs in Jacksonian America won the 1970 American Historical Association’s Albert J. Beveridge Award. The Life and Times of Congressman John Quincy Adams was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1987, and The Slave Power: The Free North and Southern Domination, 1780—1860 took the second-place 2001 Lincoln Prize. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.