Politics and pragmatism: Unionism in antebellum Mississippi, 1832--186

This dissertation attempts to define and analyze the political philosophy of Unionism as it applied to antebellum Mississippi from roughly the year 1832 to the outbreak of the Civil War. The work explains why Unionism appealed to many of Mississippi's citizens during the antebellum period and explores the motives that led some office-seekers to embrace Unionism as a primary vehicle for their own political advancement. It examines both the pragmatic and ideological concerns of Mississippi Unionists and compares and contrasts their beliefs and motives with those of their political rivals, particularly the so-called "fire-eaters" of the 1850s.