Surrounded by a ring of fire, the scorpion stings itself to death.
The image, widespread among antislavery leaders before the Civil
War, captures their long-standing strategy for peaceful abolition:
they would surround the slave states with a cordon of freedom. They
planned to use federal power wherever they could to establish
freedom: the western territories, the District of Columbia, the
high seas. By constricting slavery they would induce a crisis:
slaves would escape in ever-greater numbers, the southern economy
would falter, and finally the southern states would abolish the
institution themselves. For their part the southern states fully
understood this antislavery strategy. They cited it repeatedly as
they adopted secession ordinances in response to Lincoln's
election.
The scorpion's sting is the centerpiece of this fresh, incisive
exploration of slavery and the Civil War: Was there a peaceful
route to abolition? Was Lincoln late to emancipation? What role did
race play in the politics of slavery? With stunning insight James
Oakes moves us ever closer to a new understanding of the most
momentous events in our history.
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