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Acknowledgments The idea for this book came during a 1993 Ph.D. seminar course at the University of Southern Mississippi. Over the last twelve years, I have amassed many debts of gratitude which, although they can never be adequately repaid, must, at the very least, be acknowledged. My highest expression of thanks goes to Charles C. Bolton whose comments and suggestions were always valuable and whose encouragement always treasured. William K. Scarborough, John D. W. Guice, Jürgen Buchenau, and Margaret Barnett provided valuable counsel and instruction. Many other individuals played signi¤cant roles in this project and deserve special mention: Edward Forsyth of Lockport, New York, provided genealogical information on the Forsyth family; Betty Brandon helped secure visiting researcher status for me at the University of South Alabama ; Michael Thomason of the University of South Alabama was never too busy to answer questions; Michael Fitzgerald of St. Olaf College met with me on several occasions and gave valuable advice and encouragement; and Eric Foner of Columbia University read the chapter on Reconstruction and offered valuable comments. Lynne Thomas Burnett read several versions of the manuscript and offered editorial comments. Lauren Ashley Burnett, before she became old enough to realize it was not cool to do so, ran many copies and pulled many books and reels of micro¤lm. I had the wonderful opportunity to work in some of the best libraries and archives in the southeastern United States. I found extremely professional and courteous people at every stop. My sincere appreciation is expressed to the research staffs of the Alabama State Department of Archives and History, Gorgas Library and the W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library at The University of Alabama, University of South Alabama Archives, Mobile Public Library, Historic Mobile Preservation Society, Museum of the City of Mobile, Mobile Municipal Archives, Mobile Probate Court Archives, Cook Library at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hill Memorial Library at Louisiana State Uni- versity, Georgia State Department of Archives, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia, Perkins Library at Duke University, and Wilson Library (Southern Historical Collection) at the University of North Carolina. I was especially impressed with the assistance I received at the Library of Congress Manuscript and Rare Books Divisions as well as at the National Archives in both Washington, D.C., and College Park, Maryland. The gracious people at the University of Chicago provided photocopies of material in the Stephen A. Douglas Papers. Finally, the editors at The University of Alabama Press have been immensely helpful during this process. The staff has shown the utmost degree of professionalism , patience, and wisdom. I am also grateful to the anonymous readers assigned by the Press, who obviously took their tasks seriously and provided valuable suggestions. Any remaining shortcomings are mine alone. In a project of this long duration, one is bound to experience many mountains and valleys. The highs were indeed very high. One cannot forget afternoon discussions with Mike Fitzgerald over key lime pie, studying Reconstruction history with Eric Foner during a summer week in Manhattan, the ¤rst time entering the main reading room at the Library of Congress, or springtime on the campus at the University of Georgia. However, life is not spent on the mountaintop and when valleys come, they can be very deep. One week before I signed a contract with The University of Alabama Press to publish this book, I lost my father, Robert Kennedy Burnett. My dad grew up during the Great Depression and was a member of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. He was in the snow at Bastogne and received the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the Battle of the Bulge. He died on 18 February 2004. I have missed him every day since, and it is to him that I dedicate this book. viii / Acknowledgments ...

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