In the mid-1840s; Warner McCary; an ex-slave from Mississippi; claimed a new identity for himself; traveling around the nation as Choctaw performer "Okah Tubbee." He soon married Lucy Stanton; a divorced white Mormon woman from New York; who likewise claimed to be an Indian and used the name "Laah Ceil." Together; they embarked on an astounding; sometimes scandalous journey across the United States and Canada; performing as American Indians for sectarian worshippers; theater audiences; and patent medicine seekers. Along the way; they used widespread notions of "Indianness" to disguise their backgrounds; justify their marriage; and make a living. In doing so; they reflected and shaped popular ideas about what it meant to be an American Indian in the mid-nineteenth century.Weaving together histories of slavery; Mormonism; popular culture; and American medicine; Angela Pulley Hudson offers a fascinating tale of ingenuity; imposture; and identity. While illuminating the complex relationship between race; religion; and gender in nineteenth-century North America; Hudson reveals how the idea of the "Indian" influenced many of the era's social movements. Through the remarkable lives of Tubbee and Ceil; Hudson uncovers both the complex and fluid nature of antebellum identities and the place of "Indianness" at the very heart of American culture.
#2186155 in Books Stanley Harrold 2013-02-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.30 x .68 x 6.16l; 1.00 #File Name: 1469606852312 pagesBorder War Fighting over Slavery before the Civil War
Review
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. A Revealing StoryBy P. R. SmithIn 'Border War; Fighting Over Slavery Before the Civil War'; Stanley Harrold has scored an A+. Early in the book; he describes how unfamiliar visitors to both regions noticed the prosperity of the free labor north and the dismal condition of the slave south. He makes clear the differences between the lower North and upper South; states on the boundry line between slave and free that struggled for 30 years over slavery; sometimes coming to fatal blows. Harrold brings to life the terrible impact and great cost that slavery was to the U.S. The 30 year struggle escalated on both sides of the boundry; causing each to become more hardened in defense of their opinion of free vs. slave labor. A great amount of research was no doubt put into making this book so revealing. I have also read 'Disunion' by Elizabeth Varon and 'Fate of Their Country' by Michael Holt; both of which focus more on the political aspect of the road to Civil War. Those two books in combination with 'Border War' gave me a better understanding of the events that led to America's bloodiest conflict. I can't say enough good things about 'Border War' but will end saying that it is a must read for anyone interested in understanding conditions that led to the melt down in 1861.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A thoroughly scholarly history told as an intense page turnerBy Richard S. CarterI would have given this book five stars except that at a few intervals the prose and information become a little bit dry and detailed. It mostly; however; is a very readable rendition of the ongoing violence along the border between slave and nonslave states in the decades prior to the Civil War. For me it was a really absorbing read; and I recommend it for anyone who is interested in politics prior to the war; the Underground Railroad; the abolition movement; or in understanding the war itself. Also; it's a very; very thoroughly academically researched work; giving the story excellent credibility for all it's factual content.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Useful TextBy drjlfHarrold provides a good narrative with many examples of how the animosity between slave and free states grew over time. It is tempting to simplify the issues that the nation faced at the time as right and wrong. Harrold does a good job in demonstrating just how complex and contentious the issues were.
