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Seeding Civil War: Kansas in the National News, 1854-1858
Following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Kansas Territory was a national issue that dominated America's press, not to mention three sessions of Congress. Hundreds of thousands of articles and editorials--4,500 in the New York Herald alone--were published about Bleeding Kansas during those four tumultuous years leading up to the Lecompton Constitution. Craig Miner now offers the first in-depth study of national media coverage devoted to the beleaguered territory, unearthing new examples of what Americans were saying about Kansas and showing how those words affected the course of national events.
Miner draws on dozens of newspapers and magazines from all parts of the country and of all political persuasions: a trove of rich quotations and unvarnished epithets, nearly all of them published here for the first time. He reveals how the heated, polarizing rhetoric widened the sectional rift, weakened chances of accommodation, and contributed more to the onset of civil war than has been previously recognized.
Miner shows what a tremendous obsession Kansas was for the nation-a whipping boy for sectional and political emotions-and how thoroughly it dominated the press in cities large and small, North and South. He argues convincingly that the endless, seemingly fruitless debate was important more because of the way events were discussed than because of the significance of the events themselves and that it contributed to the cynicism that made war inevitable-for some, even desirable. Along the way, he addresses such topics as the vagaries of voting as a democratic solution to moral divisions, the Kansas issue as a religious debate, the media creation of martyrs, and Kansas governors as examples of leadership, for good or ill.
After reading Seeding Civil War, Kansans will never be able to regard Lawrence and Lecompton the same way again, while national readers will gain surprising insights about their own towns during this critical time--and experience firsthand the unfolding of a national disaster.
Miner draws on dozens of newspapers and magazines from all parts of the country and of all political persuasions: a trove of rich quotations and unvarnished epithets, nearly all of them published here for the first time. He reveals how the heated, polarizing rhetoric widened the sectional rift, weakened chances of accommodation, and contributed more to the onset of civil war than has been previously recognized.
Miner shows what a tremendous obsession Kansas was for the nation-a whipping boy for sectional and political emotions-and how thoroughly it dominated the press in cities large and small, North and South. He argues convincingly that the endless, seemingly fruitless debate was important more because of the way events were discussed than because of the significance of the events themselves and that it contributed to the cynicism that made war inevitable-for some, even desirable. Along the way, he addresses such topics as the vagaries of voting as a democratic solution to moral divisions, the Kansas issue as a religious debate, the media creation of martyrs, and Kansas governors as examples of leadership, for good or ill.
After reading Seeding Civil War, Kansans will never be able to regard Lawrence and Lecompton the same way again, while national readers will gain surprising insights about their own towns during this critical time--and experience firsthand the unfolding of a national disaster.
322 pages, Hardcover
First published September 3, 2008
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April 2, 2026The journalism history here is its most interesting element, particularly in how technology led to more coverage of Kansas. The book also presents that Kansas wasn't about Kansas — before, during, or after — but was instead a proxy.
Unfortunately, the book is held back by its squishiness. The book concedes slavery was wrong and the Civil War was inevitable, but it "both sides" by treating it as any other political issue, and not as a moral failing. The rhetoric of the Abolitionists was correct in substance and tone, that's how serious it was, but the book handles it like a normal political debate. I don't think this is the right approach.
Unfortunately, the book is held back by its squishiness. The book concedes slavery was wrong and the Civil War was inevitable, but it "both sides" by treating it as any other political issue, and not as a moral failing. The rhetoric of the Abolitionists was correct in substance and tone, that's how serious it was, but the book handles it like a normal political debate. I don't think this is the right approach.
October 11, 2020
An interesting view of how the media inflamed the events occurring in Kansas during its territorial time period. Also explains how those events would lead to the United States Civil War.
March 13, 2018
I found this book problematic, and the weakest work Miner has written in some time.
The premise of this book is Miner's examination of the newspaper reporting about events in Kansas Territory from 1854 to 1858. The United States was caught up in a passionate debate over whether Kansas ought to be admitted as a slave or a free state. The Kansas issue brought to the fore a simmering division in the country over slavery. Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 can be seen as the first concrete step the nation took towards Civil War.
Miner does a good job of gathering newspaper quotes on the Kansas issue over this four-year period. He assembles material from North and South, East and West, and from across the changing political spectrum. He makes a good case that the vitriolic opinions expressed contributed to the inability of political leadership to find compromise on the Kansas issue.
But that same complete research also makes for a rough read. Newspaper passages quoted in great length begin to blur together into sentences without end. Many passages and quotations feel redundant, as if Miner was afraid one source would not seem typical enough. The book feels as though it needed a tighter focus or more editing.
Additionally, while the work has some merit, it doesn't add much to the overall history of this period of Kansas history. In a way this is the ultimate outsider work: lots of reporting on events, but nothing new on the events themselves. Certainly the reporting and opinions contributed to the growing divide between North and South. Without links between the coverage and events in Kansas, the book seems to be missing something.
Put simply, "Seeding Civil War" adds to the literature about the events of the 1850s that led to the Civil War, but doesn't add anything new about the Kansas issue itself.
The premise of this book is Miner's examination of the newspaper reporting about events in Kansas Territory from 1854 to 1858. The United States was caught up in a passionate debate over whether Kansas ought to be admitted as a slave or a free state. The Kansas issue brought to the fore a simmering division in the country over slavery. Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 can be seen as the first concrete step the nation took towards Civil War.
Miner does a good job of gathering newspaper quotes on the Kansas issue over this four-year period. He assembles material from North and South, East and West, and from across the changing political spectrum. He makes a good case that the vitriolic opinions expressed contributed to the inability of political leadership to find compromise on the Kansas issue.
But that same complete research also makes for a rough read. Newspaper passages quoted in great length begin to blur together into sentences without end. Many passages and quotations feel redundant, as if Miner was afraid one source would not seem typical enough. The book feels as though it needed a tighter focus or more editing.
Additionally, while the work has some merit, it doesn't add much to the overall history of this period of Kansas history. In a way this is the ultimate outsider work: lots of reporting on events, but nothing new on the events themselves. Certainly the reporting and opinions contributed to the growing divide between North and South. Without links between the coverage and events in Kansas, the book seems to be missing something.
Put simply, "Seeding Civil War" adds to the literature about the events of the 1850s that led to the Civil War, but doesn't add anything new about the Kansas issue itself.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews