Declarations of Dependence

“A novel perspective on the interaction between citizens and their state government.” — Journal of American History

“A useful corrective for certain assumptions about both the historical and contemporary character of American political culture.” — Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“Downs tackles important questions and his book is a rare achievement — well written, deeply researched, and thought-provoking.” — Journal of the Civil War Era

“Declarations of Dependence is provocative and enlightening . . . An intellectual tour de force. ” — Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

“[Down’s] interpretations can help historians better appreciate the nuanced, paradoxical ways in which individuals attempted to advance their interests using the language of dependence.” — American Historical Review

“An important new way of conceiving of how power worked in the late nineteenth century. . . . The best kind of book.” — H-Net Reviews

“Any serious student of U.S. history during the half-century following the outbreak of the Civil War would be well advised to read this well-written study based on original sources in North Carolina’s extensive state archives.” — The Historian

“Thought-provoking. . . . [an] ambitious, deeply-researched study.” — Journal of Southern History

“A masterful scholarly text brimming with insightful new arguments.” — Southern Historian