Download or read book Parties, Politics, and the Sectional Conflict in Tennessee, 1832-1861 written by Jonathan M. Atkins and published by Univ. of Tennessee Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this thought-provoking study, Jonathan M. Atkins provides a fresh look at the partisan ideological battles that marked the political culture of antebellum Tennessee. He argues that the legacy of party politics was a key factor in shaping Tennessee's hesitant course during the crisis of Union in 1860-61. No previous book has so clearly detailed the role of party politics and ideology in Tennessee's early history. As Atkins shows, the ideological debate helps to explain not only the character and survival of Tennessee's party system but also the persistent strength of unionism in a state that ultimately joined the Southern cause.