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Books > Humanities > History > American history > 1800 to 1900
Charles Dew's Apostles of Disunion has established itself as a
modern classic and an indispensable account of the Southern states'
secession from the Union. Addressing topics still hotly debated
among historians and the public at large more than a century and a
half after the Civil War, the book offers a compelling and clearly
substantiated argument that slavery and race were at the heart of
our great national crisis. The fifteen years since the original
publication of Apostles of Disunion have seen an intensification of
debates surrounding the Confederate flag and Civil War monuments.
In a powerful new afterword to this anniversary edition, Dew
situates the book in relation to these recent controversies and
factors in the role of vast financial interests tied to the
internal slave trade in pushing Virginia and other upper South
states toward secession and war.
The Civil War devastated the South, and the end of slavery turned
Southern society upside down. How did the South regain social,
economic, and political stability in the wake of emancipation and
wartime destruction, and how did the South come together with its
former enemies in the North? Why did the South not slip back into
chaos? This book holds the keys to the answers to these tantalizing
questions. Author Joseph Ranney explodes the myth of a unified
South and exposes just how complex and fragile the postwar recovery
was. The end of slavery and the emergence of a radically new social
order raised a host of thorny legal issues: What place should newly
freed slaves have in Southern society? What was the proper balance
between states' rights and a newly powerful federal government? How
could postwar economic distress be eased without destroying
property rights? Should new civil rights be extended to women as
well as blacks? Southern states addressed these issues in
surprisingly different ways. Ranney also shatters the popular myth
that a new legal system was imposed upon the South by the
victorious North during Reconstruction. Southern states took an
active hand in shaping postwar changes, and Southern courts often
defended civil rights and national reunification against hostile
Southern legislators. How did that come about? Ranney provides some
surprising answers. He also profiles judges and other lawmakers who
shaped Southern law during and after Reconstruction, including
heretofore little-known black leaders in the South. These
extraordinary individuals created a legal heritage that assisted
leaders of the second civil rights revolution a century after
Reconstruction ended. This bookadds immeasurably to our knowledge
not only of Southern history, but also of American legal and social
history.
This is one volume in a library of Confederate States history, in
twelve volumes, written by distinguished men of the South, and
edited by Gen. Clement A. Evans of Georgia. A generation after the
Civil War, the Southern protagonists wanted to tell their story,
and in 1899 these twelve volumes appeared under the imprint of the
Confederate Publishing Company. The first and last volumes comprise
such subjects as the justification of the Southern States in
seceding from the Union and the honorable conduct of the war by the
Confederate States government; the history of the actions and
concessions of the South in the formation of the Union and its
policy in securing the territorial dominion of the United States;
the civil history of the Confederate States; Confederate naval
history; the morale of the armies; the South since the war, and a
connected outline of events from the beginning of the struggle to
its close. The other ten volumes each treat a separate State with
details concerning its peculiar story, its own devotion, its
heroes, and its battlefields. Volume 5 is South Carolina.
This is the first scholarly analysis of The London American, the
pro-Union propaganda journal published in London during the
American Civil War, and the motives and troubles of its proprietor,
John Adams Knight, a Northern American based in the British
capital. The newspaper's successes and failures in attempts to
manipulate British public opinion during the war are compared with
that of The Index, its rival Confederate propaganda weekly
headquartered two doors down London's Fleet Street. Persuading John
Bull provides scholars and general readers alike a far greater
understanding of the largely unknown Northern newspaper's
motivations and campaigns during the war, as well as an in-depth
analysis of The Index which builds greatly on present
historiographical discussions of the Southern journal. It also
offers new insights into Britain's roles in the conflict,
Anglo-American relations, and mid-Victorian British political and
social history. The book is not restricted to discussing the two
propaganda machines as its focus-they are used to approach a
greater analysis of British public opinion during the American
Civil War-both journals were strongly associated with numerous key
figures, societies (British and American), and events occurring on
both sides of the Atlantic pertaining to the conflict. Although
propaganda is only one source from which to tap, the effectiveness
of the two lobbyist journals either directly or indirectly impacted
other factors influencing Britain's ultimate decision to remain
neutral. This book reveals a fresh new cast of Union supporters in
London, in addition to more Confederate sympathizers throughout
Britain not previously discussed by scholars. The roles of these
new figures, how and why they endorsed the Northern or Southern war
effort, is analyzed in detail throughout the chapters, adding
greatly to existing historiography.
This is one volume in a library of Confederate States history, in
twelve volumes, written by distinguished men of the South, and
edited by Gen. Clement A. Evans of Georgia. A generation after the
Civil War, the Southern protagonists wanted to tell their story,
and in 1899 these twelve volumes appeared under the imprint of the
Confederate Publishing Company. The first and last volumes comprise
such subjects as the justification of the Southern States in
seceding from the Union and the honorable conduct of the war by the
Confederate States government; the history of the actions and
concessions of the South in the formation of the Union and its
policy in securing the territorial dominion of the United States;
the civil history of the Confederate States; Confederate naval
history; the morale of the armies; the South since the war, and a
connected outline of events from the beginning of the struggle to
its close. The other ten volumes each treat a separate State with
details concerning its peculiar story, its own devotion, its
heroes, and its battlefields. Volume 3 is Virginia.
Often Civil War histories embody stories about politicians and
generals. Ordinary soldiers, wives, mothers, children, slaves,
farmers, merchants, Unionists, and deserters are only occasionally
mentioned. To convey a comprehensive history is to include a wide
array of sources. Newly discovered material expand our
understanding.. The 1863 Gaston County tax list defines people's
lives economically and socially, and diaries, soldier letters, and
other previously unpublished documents tell the story of the war
from each perspective. Wives and mothers, children, soldiers,
politicians, deserters, and slaves communicate their feelings,
reflect their fears and aspirations. The 1863 Tax List
transcription delineates what taxpayers owned, describe slaves by
name, age and monetary value, and defines the ownership of luxury
items. The tax document communicates a first of its kind portrait
of a county. Soldiers' and family letters, letters to the governor,
cotton mill operations, political disagreements, and the lives of
slaves are described in this microscopic study of a typical
Piedmont county. The rationale for soldier enlistments, reasons for
desertion, and economic struggles on the home front are examined.
Many engaging and newly discovered historical revelations await the
reader. Your perception of the times and its people will be
expanded through their words and actions.
A "powerful" (The Wall Street Journal) biography of one of the 19th
century's greatest statesmen, encompassing his decades-long fight
against slavery and his postwar struggle to bring racial justice to
America.Thaddeus Stevens was among the first to see the Civil War
as an opportunity for a second American revolution--a chance to
remake the country as a genuine multiracial democracy. As one of
the foremost abolitionists in Congress in the years leading up to
the war, he was a leader of the young Republican Party's radical
wing, fighting for anti-slavery and anti-racist policies long
before party colleagues like Abraham Lincoln endorsed them. These
policies--including welcoming black men into the Union's
armies--would prove crucial to the Union war effort. During the
Reconstruction era that followed, Stevens demanded equal civil and
political rights for Black Americans--rights eventually embodied in
the 14th and 15th amendments. But while Stevens in many ways pushed
his party--and America--towards equality, he also championed ideas
too radical for his fellow Congressmen ever to support, such as
confiscating large slaveholders' estates and dividing the land
among those who had been enslaved. In Thaddeus Stevens, acclaimed
historian Bruce Levine has written a "vital" (The Guardian),
"compelling" (James McPherson) biography of one of the most
visionary statesmen of the 19th century and a forgotten champion
for racial justice in America.
In June 1864, General Ulysses Grant ordered his cavalry commander,
Philip Sheridan, to conduct a raid to destroy the Virginia Central
Railroad between Charlottesville and Richmond. Sheridan fell short
of his objective when he was defeated by General Wade Hampton's
cavalry in a two-day battle at Trevilian Station. The first day's
fighting saw dismounted Yankees and Rebels engaged at close range
in dense forest. By day's end, Hampton had withdrawn to the west.
Advancing the next morning, Sheridan found Hampton dug in behind
hastily built fortifications and launched seven dismounted
assaults, each repulsed with heavy casualties. As darkness fell,
the Confederates counterattacked, driving the Union forces from the
field. Sheridan began his withdrawal that night, an ordeal for his
men, the Union wounded and Confederate prisoners brought off the
field and the hundreds of starved and exhausted horses that marked
his retreat, killed to prevent their falling into Confederate
hands.
Were Lincoln alive today what would his response be to the immense
and complex issues confronting the United States of America? In
Lincoln's day the issues facing the country dating from Lincoln's
first political speech (1838) until his death in the opening of his
second term (1865) were momentous to his generation, just as the
issues facing the country in the early 21st Century are immense to
its generation. The people of Lincoln's day needed leadership. The
people of the United States today also need leadership-not just any
kind of leadership-but leadership that is anchored solidly on the
fundamental principles and practices of the Constitution of the
United States and the Declaration of Independence. Within the
understanding that people of Lincoln's generation were as people
are today in their essential characteristics, good and bad, join in
an investigation that utilizes Lincoln's own words from his early
career and adapts them in principle to the practices of today.
Lincoln was a great leader who rescued the Union and restored the
country. We can learn from his leadership-if we simply take the
time to read and then apply what we learn into the contemporary
circumstances that define our issues.
Ulysses S. Grant was responsible for orchestrating the activities
of all the Union armies into a single strategy, providing the
leadership that eventually doomed the Confederacy and brought about
the end of the Civil War. This book documents Grant's contributions
to the Civil War as well as his early life and presidency. Ulysses
S. Grant: A Biography takes an in-depth look at one of the most
well-known figures to emerge from the American Civil War, the famed
Union commander and 18th President of the United States who has
become an iconic part of our nation's history. The book provides a
balanced overview that encompasses all the major events of Grant's
life as well as his ancestry, portraying him as a common man who
endured defeats and setbacks instead of a flawless noble hero. It
accurately chronicles his life as it took place and tells a story
of perseverance that illuminates Grant's successes as a testimony
to determination and pluck rather than the result of luck or raw
talent. This work will be especially helpful to high school and
college-age audiences, and can be enjoyed by anyone interested in
the Civil War period. Contains photographs of Grant at various
stages of his life or that depict important events Includes a
comprehensive bibliography as well a timeline of Grant's life and
career
A border county in a border state, Barbour County, West Virginia
felt the full terror and tragedy of the Civil War. The wounds of
the Civil War cut most bitterly in the border states, that strip of
America from Maryland to Kansas, where conflicting loyalties and
traditions ripped apart communities, institutions, and families.
Barbour County, in the mountainous Northwest of (West) Virginia, is
a telling microcosm of the deep divisions which both caused the war
and were caused by it. By examining and interpreting long-ignored
documents of the times and the personal accounts of the people who
were there, Clash of Loyalties offers a startling new view of
America's most bitter hour. Nearly half of the military-age men in
the county served in the armed forces, almost perfectly divided
between the Union and the Confederacy. After West Virginia split
with Virginia to rejoin the Union, Confederate soldiers from the
regions could not safely visit their homes on furlough, or even
send letters to their families. The county's two leading political
figures, Samuel Woods and Spencer Dayton, became leaders of the
fight for and against secession, dissolved their close personal
friendship, and never spoke to one another again. The two factions
launched campaigns of terror and intimidation, leading to the
burning of several homes, the kidnapping of a sheriff, the murder
of a pacifist minister, and the self-imposed exile of many of the
county's influential families. The conflicting loyalties crossed
nearly all social and economic lines; even the county's slave
owners were evenly divided between Union and Confederate
sympathies. With a meticulous examination of census and military
records, geneologies, period newspapers, tax rolls, eyewitness
accounts, and other relevant documents, Clash of Loyalties presents
a compelling account of the passion and violence which tore apart
Barbour County and the nation.
In the summer of 1864, Georgia was the scene of one of the most
important campaigns of the Civil War. William Tecumseh Sherman's
push southward toward Atlanta threatened the heart of the
Confederacy, and Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of Tennessee were
the Confederacy's best hope to defend it. In June, Johnston managed
to grind Sherman's advance to a halt northwest of Atlanta at
Kennesaw Mountain. After weeks of maneuvering, on June 27, Sherman
launched a bold attack on Johnston's lines. The Confederate victory
was one of the bloodiest days of the entire campaign. And while
Sherman's assaults had a frightful cost, Union forces learned
important lessons at Kennesaw Mountain that enabled the fall of
Atlanta several months later.
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