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Chapter 13 in Sean Wilentz’s The Rise of American Democracy was significantly different from the other chapters so far. Whereas Wilentz usually devotes each chapter to one particular topic, Chapter 13 describes three independent events: The Bank War, abolitionism and the rise of labor unions. This division of different topics in American history leads to an awkward read where some topics are discussed in more sufficient depth than others.
I strongly agree with MASPEED’s criticisms of Wilentz’s treatment of The Bank War. I too found the writing extremely boring, and when the text did manage to hold my interest, I found Wilentz’s writing confusing for those who were not already familiar with the issue. I did find it the disagreement on Andrew Jackson’s removal of federal deposits from the bank between the House (backed his actions) and the Senate (disagreed) interesting. This conflict seems to echo the constant disagreements found in the US political system today that significantly limits the actions the government can take.
Out of the three sections, Wilentz seemed to focus most of his attention to the topic of abolition. Like JANEWTON, I was astonished by the “violent hostility in the northern states” (Wilentz 211) towards the prospect of removing slaves and the anti-abolitionist mobs led “not by lower-class rowdies but local notables” (Wilentz 214), who “abhorred the abolitionists’ challenge to their own social authority” (Wilentz 214). For a society that no longer relied on slaves to maintain their economy, I expected the North’s resistance to the preservation of slavery to be minimal. After the reading, I believe most anti-abolitionists were opposed to change primarily because they did not want the federal government infringing on their strong political power.
On a similar topic, in chapter 13 of David Davis’ Inhuman Bondage, I was interested by Davis’ discussion of the extent of the distribution of abolitionist literature (which reached 3 million pieces by 1840), which “far exceeded anything done in the British campaign” (Davis 260). These sentiments are echoed in The Rise of American Democracy when Wilentz discusses the publication of Thoughts on African Colonization, Declaration of Principles and Liberator as texts to help fuel the abolitionist movement. Across sources, literature is mentioned as a primary factor in spreading abolitionist ideals and gaining support in the same way it has influenced countless other revolutions.
Wilentz’s final section concerns the creation of labor unions. While I found that he discussed this topic more adequately than The Bank Wars, it was still not on par with his description of abolitionism. I was interested by his discussion of union-based political communities who published their own newspapers, organized their own elections and perform public demonstrations. Wilentz’s description made me consider unions as their own independent political and social communities that were not part of a particular infrastructure, but ones that set their own rules for their own personal interests and gains.