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174CIVIL WAR history Bergeron presents a clear, concise account of his subject. Some might wish for a more analytical treatment, especially formorecomparison of Tennessee pohtics to those of other states; but such objections largely fade when one pays close attention to the endnotes. Though one can regret that more of the material in the notes did not find its way into the main text, it is nevertheless important to conclude that, taken together, the notes and text represent a thoroughly researched, cogently argued account of Tennessee's antebeUum poUtical parties. John V. Mering University of Arizona The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted. Vol. 2, Sfovery and the South, 1852-1857. Edited by Charles Capen McLaughhn et al. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981. Pp. xxi, 503. $28.95.) Historians of late antebeUum slavery have found Frederick Law Olmsted one of the most acute contemporary observers of the Old South. Olmsted's credibiUty with scholars rests above aU on his promise to New York Times editor Henry Raymond to write only about matters personally seen. Raymond specificaUy hired Olmsted in 1852 as a man without an axe to grind on the slavery question. The effect of this book is to cast doubt on Qlmsted's reliability as a witness. Volume 2 of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsteddiffers from most other pubhshed papers series in that it largely consists of previously published material. Olmsted's writings on the South first appeared in the Times or the New York Tribune and were later reprinted in various "Journey" books. After the outbreak of the CivilWar, Olmsted rehashed his earlier writings into the two-volume Cotton South. The editors of this volume perform a valuable service by skillfully annotating Olmsted's newspaper travel accounts. Charles Beveridge offers ahelpful introduction , giving important details of Olmsted's travels, New York life, and later free-soil political activities. The introduction reflects the plan of the volume. Items about Olmsted's first southern trip in 1852 and 1853 cover nearly half the book, while the balance of the documents pertain to his second southern trip, unsuccessful pubUshing ventures, private life, and political work on behalf of free-soilers in Kansas and Texas. The editors' notes highlight three important facts about Olmsted's southern travels. First, Olmsted saw remarkably Uttle of plantation life. On his first visit of four months, he gained entry to only three plantations below the James River. None of these inspections exceeded two days. On his second, ten-month trip to the South, he saw even fewer plantations . Second, Olmsted developed a decided antipathy to slaveholders after a November 1853 run-in with Tennessee planter Samuel AUison. The arrogant and aristocratic AUison convinced Olmsted that the South posed a threat to republican institutions, and that active measures would be necessary to curb southern territorial expansion. Third, there is more BOOK REVIEWS175 of the boomer than the reporter in Olmsted's descriptions of German cotton-growing settlements in Texas. Letters reveal Olmsted's help and support for the free-soil newspaper in SanAntonio, andhis lobbying the New England Emigrant Aid Society to make Texas another Kansas. Fourteen months of travel in the South transformed Olmsted from an open-minded observer into a determined free-soiler. Historians of the Old South shouldnote this evolution when reading his work. The "early" Olmsted writings (before November 1853) contain the most useful material. The "Journey" books (edited as polemics) should be avoided in favor ofthe originalnewspaper articles. Finally, Olmsted's writings of the 1850s tell us something about his future career. Stung by the charge that the North could only produce a mudsill democracy, Olmsted felt the necessity of elevating the aesthetic taste of workingmen. His ultimate answer to the slaveholders was the creation of democratic wonders hke Central Park by using the previously aristocratic form of landscape architecture. James W. Oberly CoUege of William and Mary The Antimasonic Party in the United States, 1826-1843. By William Preston Vaughan. (Lexington: University Press ofKentucky, 1983. Pp. x, 244. $16.00.) Most historians remember the Antimasonic party for three reasons. First, it began as a protest movement over thekidnappingandprobable murder by Masons of the Masonicdefector, WiUiam Morgan; second, in 1831 its...

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