Brewing Storms of War, Slavery, and Imperialism: Harriet Martineau’s Engagement with the Periodical Press

Abstract

Harriet Martineau’s important writings on the American Civil War and the Crimean War (1854–62) are the focus of Lesa Scholl’s essay. Scholl argues that Martineau used these conflicts to reflect on issues of ‘human freedom and economic imperial endeavour’ (p. 490). These conflicts had implications not only for Americans and Russians but also for British readers as well–connections that she carefully highlighted in essays published in the prestigious Westminster Review (1824–1914) and Edinburgh Review (1802–1929). The long-essay format provided the space she needed to contextualise contemporary conflicts within a broader historical narrative, ‘[educating] her fellow citizens regarding their own behavior on the international stage’ (p. 490). In this way, she ‘maximised the impact of periodicals as democratic media that incorporated multitudinous voices, reached international audiences, and could be used to promote broad economic and political reform’ (p. 500).