In his book, Apostles of Disunion, Charles Dew has three central goals:
To disabuse the still (surprisingly) commonly held belief that secession was not about preserving slavery but rather about protecting states’ rights
To explain how secession was not an obvious or easy decision for many who joined the Confederacy, but was a choice that was bolstered by a targeted messaging campaign designed to persuade hesitant states to leave the United States
To describe how that messaging campaign was about far more than the institution of slavery alone, but rather exploited a much broader message about preserving racial subordination and protecting white supremacy
Your assignment is to pick ONE of Dew’s central goals and explain how he illustrated his point with historical evidence.
In a three-page essay, discuss how Dew made his central point by using example of the primary sources he cites.
