The Counterrevolution of Slavery

“In this engaging book, Manisha Sinha places slavery at the center of southern political distinctiveness in the antebellum era and South Carolina at the forefront of southern nationalism. . . . Finely written and compelling.” — American Historical Review

“Likely to become the definitive account of antebellum political culture and ideology in South Carolina.” — Journal of American Studies

“Well researched, clearly written, and forcefully argued.” — Journal of Southern History

“A complete story of the rise of secession thinking in South Carolina. . . . Sinha’s book will create much excellent debate and her study should be required reading for historians of the United States.” — Journal of the Early Republic

“This is the best account to date of the militant defense of slavery and state sovereignty that put South Carolina in the vanguard of the southern secession movement. It argues cogently that the South Carolina elite was in full rebellion against democracy and the equal-rights heritage of the American Revolution and not merely defending its own variant of republicanism. This deeply researched and well-crafted study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the causes of the Civil War.” — George M. Fredrickson, Stanford University

“Lucidly and often brilliantly written and based on extensive research in antebellum South Carolina sources . . . Sinha’s book narrates and interprets South Carolina’s proslavery politics from nullification to secession. . . . This book belongs in the front ranks of scholarship on the politics of slavery.” — Civil War History

“The Counterrevolution of Slavery is a well researched and strongly argued reinterpretation of the road to secession in South Carolina. Whether or not one agrees with Sinha’s provocative thesis, her compelling monograph is a 'must read' for historians of antebellum politics.” — Peter A. Coclanis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“The Counterrevolution of Slavery is a provocative revisionist history of slavery’s profound influence on politics and ideology in the vanguard of secession, making clear that the Confederates in the attic of antebellum South Carolina were the state’s political leaders, who said what they meant and meant what they said.” — Michael Johnson, Johns Hopkins University