"Between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, the United States was embroiled in competitive inter-state politics. Aside from the War of 1812, the Oregon Crisis, and the Mexican War, other "near misses" included here - disputes of 1807 and 1809 with Britain, with Spain over East Florida in 1811-13, with Mexico in 1853, and disputes with Spain over Cuba in 1853-55 and with Mexico in 1858-60 - have been ignored in the democratic peace literature. Scott A. Silverstone finds these cases particularly useful for testing alternative explanations of constraints on armed conflict, because the United States backed down each time, allowing each crisis to pass short of its full potential for violence." "Divided Union shows how the institutional features of federal union and the diverse social, economic, and security interests within this geographically extended republic created political conditions that impeded the use of force by the United States before the Civil War."--BOOK JACKET.