A Southern Moderate in Radical Times: Henry Washington Hilliard, 1808-1892LSU Press, 2008 - 264 páginas In A Southern Moderate in Radical Times, David I. Durham offers a comprehensive and critical appraisal of one of the South's famous dissenters. Against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent periods in American history, he explores the ideological and political journey of Henry Washington Hilliard (1808--1892), a southern politician whose opposition to secession placed him at odds with many of his peers in the South's elite class. Durham weaves threads of American legal, social, and diplomatic history to tell the story of this fascinating man who, living during a time of unrestrained destruction as well as seemingly endless possibilities, consistently focused on the positive elements in society even as forces beyond his control shaped his destiny. A three-term congressman from Alabama, as well as professor, attorney, diplomat, minister, soldier, and author, Hilliard had a career that spanned more than six decades and involved work on three continents. He modeled himself on the ideal of the erudite statesman and celebrated orator, and strove to maintain that persona throughout his life. As a member of Congress, he strongly opposed secession from the Union. No radical abolitionist, Hilliard supported the constitutional legality of slavery, but working in the tradition of the great moderates, he affirmed the status quo and warned of the dangers of change. For a period of time he and like-minded colleagues succeeded in overcoming the more radical voices and blocking disunion, but their success was short-lived and eventually overwhelmed by the growing appeal of sectional extremism. As Durham shows, Hilliard's personal suffering, tempered by his consistent faith in Divine Providence, eventually allowed him to return to his ideological roots and find a lasting sense of accomplishment late in life by becoming the unlikely spokesman for the Brazilian antislavery cause. Drawing on a large range of materials, from Hilliard's literary addresses at South Carolina College and the University of Alabama to his letters and speeches during his tenure in Brazil, Durham reveals an intellectual struggling to understand his world and to reconcile the sphere of the intellectual with that of the church and political interests. A Southern Moderate in Radical Times opens a window into Hilliard's world, and reveals the tragedy of a visionary who understood the dangers lurking in the conflicts he could not control. |
Dentro del libro
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... Erosophic Society and the Philomathic Society.12 The societies, which met atten o'clock each Saturday morning, provided, at least in the minds of the professors, a recreational as well as an academic outlet for the students, all of whom ...
... societies at the university. This group, known as the “Tuskaloosa Bards,” became a tribute to Hilliard's teaching ... Erosophic Society, under the talented direction of Henry W. elected U.S. senator, and then became governor of Texas ...
... Erosophic Society on the occasion of its first anniversary in May 1832. The address, titled “The Literary Prospects of Our Country,” was predictably replete with classical imagery and quotations as well as a plea to the society members ...
... Erosophic Society at Its First Anniversary, May 26, 1832 (Tuscaloosa: Wiley, M'Guire and Henry, 1832), 3, 6–8; Spirit of the Age (Tuscaloosa), May 30, 1832. 36. The seeds of Hilliard's position on the secession issue, his primary goals ...
... society, who requested that it be published.38 Following Hilliard's address to the Erosophic Society, his euphoria slowly waned as he labored to complete the 1832 academic year. Professors and students prepared for end-of-session ...
Contenido
5 | |
23 | |
50 | |
Hilliards Years in Congress | 78 |
5 Seasons of Despair | 117 |
6 Postwar Life and the Search for Identity | 151 |
The Quest for Redemption | 166 |
The Elder Statesman | 197 |
Hilliard Family Tomb Inscriptions | 203 |
Last Will and Testament of Hon Henry W Hilliard | 207 |
Selected Bibliography | 211 |
Index | 235 |
Otras ediciones - Ver todas
A Southern Moderate in Radical Times: Henry Washington Hilliard, 1808-1892 David I. Durham Vista previa limitada - 2008 |
A Southern Moderate in Radical Times: Henry Washington Hilliard, 1808-1892 David I. Durham Vista previa limitada - 2008 |