The period from 1850 to 1876 was the most transformative era in
American history. During the course of this tumultuous quarter
century Americans fought a bloody civil war, tried to settle the
issue of state versus central government power, recognized the
dominance of the new industrial economy over the older agricultural
one, and ended slavery, long the shame of the nation. At the same
time, a major political realignment occurred with the collapse of
the "second American party system" and the emergence of a new
party, the Republicans. But the defeat of slavery-the chief
catalyst for the birth of the Republican party-was at best a
limited success. The Constitution had been rewritten to abolish
slavery and guarantee equal protection under the law, but social
equality for African Americans and expanding freedom for others
remained elusive throughout the nation. For these triumphs and
enduring tragedy, the Republican party, which became in time and
memory the party of Abraham Lincoln, bore primary responsibility.
This collection of six original essays by some of America's most
distinguished historians of the Civil War era examines the origins
and evolution of the Republican party over the course of its first
generation. The essays consider the party in terms of its identity,
interests, ideology, images, and individuals, always with an eye to
the ways the Republican party influenced midnineteenth-century
concerns over national character, political power, race, and civil
rights. The authors collectively extend their inquiries from the
1850s through the 1870s to understand the processes whereby the
second American party system broke down, a new party and politics
emerged, the Civil War came, and a new political and social order
developed. They especially consider how ideas about freedom in the
1850s coalesced during war and Reconstruction to produce both an
expanded call for political and civil rights for the ex-slaves and
a concern over expanded federal involvement in the protection of
those rights. By observing the transformation of a sectional party
born in the 1850s into the "Grand Old Party" by the 1870s, the
authors demonstrate that no modern political party, even the one
that claims descent from Lincoln, has surpassed the accomplishments
of the first generation of Republicans. Contributors- Jean H.
Baker, Professor of History at Goucher College, Maryland, is author
of Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography. Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton
Professor of History at Columbia University, is author of
Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877, winner
of the Bancroft Prize. Michael F. Holt, Langbourne M. Williams
Professor of American History at the University of Virginia, is
author of The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian
Politics and the Onset of the Civil War. James M. McPherson,
Professor of History at Princeton University, is author of Battle
Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in
history. Mark E. Neely, Jr., McCabe-Greer Professor in the American
Civil War Era at Pennsylvania State University, is author of The
Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties, winner of the
Pulitzer Prize in history. Phillip Shaw Paludan, Naomi Lynn
Professor of Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois at
Springfield, is author of The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln, winner
of the Lincoln Prize. Brooks D. Simpson, Professor of History at
Arizona State University, is author of Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph
over Adversity, 1822-1865.
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