A Civilization Gone with the Wind Amid all the printer's ink and historical speculation, the Antebellum Period (approx. 1820-1860) has largely been ignored until recently. The Antebellum often gets lost between its better-documented Federalist and Victorian "bookends." Well-educated adults are often unsure of the meaning of the term "antebellum" or relegate the entire pre-Civil War Era to Margaret Mitchell's images of Clayton County, Georgia in Gone With the Wind (1936) with its magnolia-scented plantations, hoop skirts, and flirtatious Southern Belles. While Mitchell's view of the Old South was not too far removed from the truth, and deserves its venerated place as a work of fiction and cinematography, it is far from giving a full historical view of all of Antebellum America. Americans were acutely aware of the business climate and political activities taking place across the globe and not only those of local importance. While the speed of modern communications would be incomprehensible to them, Antebellum Americans did not live in a box sealed off from the rest of the world, or conveniently segregating as American rather than British or Asian History in a modern collegiate course catalog. As will be seen, there is ample evidence that Americans affected and were affected by occurrences that took place oceans away. They were expansionists, not isolationists. Moreover, Antebellum Americans were seaman, merchants, and traders; students, visitors and expatriates; Northerners, Southerners, and emigrants; who fully participated in an empire of goods coming from sources in every corner of the world. Here in this pretty world gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of knights and their ladies fair ... Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered .. I want to see if somewhere there isn't something left in life of charm and grace. -Margaret Mitchell, author (1936)

In spite of hardships and privations, the Confederate cavalry had excellent morale throughout the war. The mud, the cold, the hunger, the wet bivouacs, the brutally long marches, did not appear to detract from the glamour of its service. Morale grew and remained high for the best of reasons: unbroken and often spectacular success, brilliant leadership, and exploits that struck the imagination. It was far otherwise for the Federal horsemen. It was apparent to the men themselves that they were being wasted and their efforts frittered away in employment that gave them no chance to perform creditably. There is only a scant record of cavalry engagements above the level of mere skirmishes in which the Federal horsemen were not worsted before the summer of 1863. The spring reorganization of 1863 was the start of a new era for the Federal cavalry. It began to prove itself in a succession of engagements: Kelly's Ford, Brandy Station, Buford's fight on the first day at Gettysburg, and Gregg's and Custer's on the third day. There were failures still, failures of leadership for the most part, but no longer did the Confederates automatically have the better of the Federals. There was a new spirit in the air, and both the Confederate and the Federal cavalry knew it. The purpose of this selection is to document the character and exploits of the Federal cavalry during the Civil War-the cavalry that George Armstrong Custer knew and in which he served. These mounted encounters will now be reported with emphasis from the Federal point of view, and the intra-service rivalries will be those of Federal officers and administrations rather than Confederate ones. Also distinguished among Federal cavalry commanders in these pages are Philip St. George Cooke, George Stoneman, Alfred Pleasonton, Phil Sheridan, John Buford, J. Irvin Gregg, David M. Gregg, H. Judson Kilpatrick, Elon Farnsworth, and many others. This is also the story of Custer's famous Michigan Brigade (1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry and Battery M, 2nd US Artillery), the only Federal cavalry brigade to hail from a single state. The Michigan Brigade fought in every major campaign of the Civil War after it had been established.

Christianity emerged in a highly patriarchal atmosphere that placed men in positions of authority in marriage, society, government, and religion. In many respects, however, the early Christians were more inclusive of women in their institutional affairs than other sects. This may be due to the fact that women were numbered among the earliest disciples of Jesus. These women had a voice, and they could open an independent inquiry into many aspects of religion and religious laws. The influence of these women is clearly underrepresented in the historical record of Christianity. The major significance of the women who knew Jesus during his life is that they were there-not only recorded by name or life circumstance in surviving documents, but physically present among his disciples and early followers.

The purpose of this selection is to document the military career of Wade Hampton III. Six feet tall and sturdily built, Hampton was no armchair warrior. Noted for his patriarchal and caring manner, Hampton would give all of his own personal fortune for the Confederate cause before the Civil War was over. Wounded five times in battle (severely at Gettysburg), at 42 years of age Hampton was described as the idealized statue of a mounted warrior. Despite his lack of military experience and his relatively advanced age, Hampton was a natural cavalryman-brave, audacious, dedicated, and a superb horseman. While Hampton was in command of the Confederate Cavalry Corps through to the end of the war, he never lost a single fight. In fact, it is the thesis of this selection that Hampton was always a significant, but underrated, force in the CSA cavalry. His victories, especially when outnumbered and out-resourced, would be unparalleled. By any measure the choice of Wade Hampton as Stuart's replacement was inspired. As Stuart was very nearly the perfect leader in the days of attack, so Hampton was almost perfectly fitted to command in the days of defense. Hampton was among the most frequent and successful of hand-to-hand combatants among all the general officers in American history. He would lose his brother and his youngest son, both killed in action, and would literally see his eldest son, Wade Hampton IV, critically wounded. After J.E.B. Stuart's death, Hampton became the commander of Southern Cavalry and proved to be a stalwart leader and able tactician. He won the open devotion of his men, the respect of his adversaries, but never the public adulation that his predecessor commanded.

There is a great need today for Americans to further their understanding of the role religion has played in the establishment of the government of the United States. Religion today is viewed with a somewhat benevolent agnosticism by many elected officials and some of its citizens, yet it was important enough to America's founders to reside in the first amendment to the Bill of Rights. Contrary to comments suggesting that Americans cling to their Bibles as a way to explain their frustrations concerning race, immigration, or the economy, religion has been a critical foundation stone of the nation since before the Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution had come to pass. In the Declaration of Independence, American revolutionaries had relied on the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God to justify and underwrite their separation from Britain. By offering a moral sanction for opposition to the British Crown, religion played a major role in the American Revolution-an assurance to the average American that revolution was justified in the sight of God. The similarities between the situation in pre-revolutionary America and the United States today are striking for any honest observer. In almost every case a widespread and unremitting contempt for established authority coupled with a libertarian leave-me-alone attitude seems best to unify many of the cross-generational attitudes toward government passed down throughout these histories.

St. Patrick's Day is a foundation of Irish culture. This full color illustrated book is meant as a brief guide to the history, traditions and delights that make March 17th "a great day for the Irish" and for anyone who knows someone who is Irish. The Irish remembered the day as they moved to other lands. In the United States, they began publicly observing the day in the early 18th century. The Irish presence in America increased dramatically in the 1840s as a result of Ireland's potato famine of 1845-1849. The St. Patrick's Day parade began to serve as a means for the Irish to show their strength and political power in the United States and the number of marchers in the parades increased dramatically over the years. Today, St Patrick's Day is a celebration of Irish culture. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 56.7 million Americans claim Irish ancestry with another 5.4 million identifying themselves as Scotch-Irish. Together that makes close to 14% of the population.

Historians have written much about the issues between Britain and its American colonies in the critical period between 1763 and 1776. Understandably, they have concentrated upon those areas where the conflict was most dramatic such as at the Boston Massacre, Lexington Green, and Concord Bridge. Middle school history teachers are fond of the rhythmic cadence of taxation without representation and the imagery of the Boston Tea Party, but the American Revolution was about more than taxes and tea. More mundane issues that may actually have carried greater moment have rarely been adequately explored. Such is the case with the availability of money and the legal status of paper currency and coinage in the colonies. In many of the colonies, these were underlying sources of discontent for much of the colonial period. This book delves into the background of these circumstances.

About Railroad Raiders The focus of this selection concerns both the Federal and Confederate efforts to disable or maintain the railroads within the active theaters of the war. Real railroads of iron and steam and ribbons of steel vanishing into the horizon quickly became a strategic objective of both armies in the Civil War. Raiders and protectors were deployed both North and South. The damage inflicted on roadways and rolling stock was not always easy to accomplish. The simplest method of slowing a train was to remove a small section of rail, but once spotted the gap was not difficult to repair. Both sides learned to tear up long sections of track, pile up and set fire to the ties, and heat and bend the iron. This was temporarily effective, but the rails could often be reheated, straightened out, and spiked back into place. The destruction of bridges, trestles, rolling stock, and especially engines was more difficult and expensive to undo. It was found that to permanently disable a locomotive, however, smashing cylinder heads, pumps, links, and valve stems was not enough. The parts had to be scattered, taken away, or buried or thrown into an inaccessible body of water. It is the author's purpose to record this often under-reported aspect of the Civil War for both military and railroading enthusiasts. Most Civil War historians concentrate on the strategic and military aspects of the railroading industry, and they rather uncritically mention engineering and other technical factors as if they were simply founded or well established. They were not. In many cases, the same sources and traditions are always quoted with no investigation into their accuracy, and no further understanding of the matter at hand is attempted. The Confederate Railroads, for instance, have only been given a detailed examination once. The Railroads of the Confederacy, by Robert Black (1952), was written sixty years ago. To the topic, the present author brings both the wide knowledge of a military historian and the technical knowledge of a professor of physics. Those readers who are impatient to read about the raids without a knowledge of the foundations of Civil War railroading may scroll to "In the War Zone" midway through this book, but they will miss much of the underlying meaning and should return to read the earlier sections. Those unfamiliar with the geography of the region should look to the maps in the rear.

This two-part book examines the roots of warfare and the development of the peace movement in America from the Colonial period through the Vietnam War. From the Colonial period on, war has inevitably divided U.S. society into pro-war and antiwar factions, and few subjects have proven so polarizing or long-lasting as a nexus of public discourse. In the contest over war and peace, uninformed beliefs have been conflated with uncontested truths by both sides, fueling a lack of bipartisanship in foreign policy that has been prevalent since the nation's earliest days. A History of War Resistance in America delineates clearly the tradition of war opposition in the United States. It examines the military, preparations for war, and war's justifiable prosecution, as well as pacifism, legitimate resistance to war, and the appropriate and free exercise of civil liberties. This thought-provoking volume offers an analysis of the reasons for conflict among peoples, the prosecution of war among nations, and the development of war resistance movements. It also explores the role of the media in forming public opinion and that of the courts in protecting—or limiting—civil liberties.

This riveting overview of the Boston Tea Party examines the significance of the events that took place before, during, and after the incident and examines the historical, political, and sociological impact on America today. The Boston Tea Party has been a source of inspiration to the millions of Americans who currently identify with today's Tea Party Patriots.This fascinating book offers insights into how this historical event prompted the creation of a democratic republic and discusses the resulting influence on modern political views. The Boston Tea Party: The Foundations of Revolution presents the chronology of events that led to America's first political insurgency. The author provides an in-depth analysis of the early grassroots movement of the 18th century to the current Tea Party Patriots, separating the facts from the propaganda, and the politics from the policies. The book includes original excerpts from the pre-revolutionary period, along with helpful maps and contemporary illustrations to lend context to the events. A chronology of the iconic events in early American history Selected bibliography of related titles A detailed analysis of the movement Excerpts from early American colonists

Based on extensive research into newly discovered documents, this new edition of the popular volume offers an updated look at the daily lives of ordinary citizens caught up in the Civil War. When first published, Daily Life in Civil War America shifted the spotlight from the conflict's military operations and famous leaders to its affect on day-to-day living. Now this popular, groundbreaking work returns in a thoroughly updated new edition, drawing on an expanded range of journals, journalism, diaries, and correspondence to capture the realities of wartime life for soldiers and citizens, slaves and free persons, women and children, on both sides of the conflict. In addition to chapter-by-chapter updating, the edition features new chapters on two important topics: the affects of the war on families, focusing on the absence of men on the home front and the plight of nearly 26,000 children orphaned by the war; and the activities of the Copperheads, anti-Confederate border residents, and other Southern pacifist groups. Includes excerpts from a wide range of first-person original writings, including diaries, letters, journals, and newspaper articles Presents over 50 images, including photographs, posters, and contemporary illustrations, much of it from the author's own collection

This volume provides insight into the family life of Native Americans of the northeast quadrant of the North American continent and those living in the adjacent coastal and piedmont regions. These Native Americans were among the most familiar to Euro-colonials for more than two centuries. From the tribes of the northeast woodlands came "great hunters, fishermen, farmers and fighters, as well as the most powerful and sophisticated Indian nation north of Mexico [the Iroquois Confederacy].

Nineteenth century families had to deal with enormous changes in almost all of life's categories. The first generation of nineteenth century Americans was generally anxious to remove the "Anglo" from their Anglo-Americanism. The generation that grew up in Jacksonian America matured during a period of nationalism, egalitarianism, and widespread reformism. Finally, the generation of the pre-war decades was innately diverse in terms of their ethnic backgrounds, employment, social class, education, language, customs, and religion. Americans were acutely aware of the need to create a stable and cohesive society firmly founded on the family and traditional family values. Yet the people of America were among the most mobile and diverse on earth. Geographically, socially, and economically, Americans (and those immigrants who wished to be Americans) were dedicated to change, movement, and progress. This dichotomy between tradition and change may have been the most durable and common of American traits, and it was a difficult quality to circumvent when trying to form a unified national persona. Volumes in the Family Life in America series focus on the day-to-day lives and roles of families throughout history. The roles of all family members are defined and information on daily family life, the role of the family in society, and the ever-changing definition of family are discussed. Discussion of the nuclear family, single parent homes, foster and adoptive families, stepfamilies, and gay and lesbian families are included where appropriate. Topics such as meal planning, homes, entertainment and celebrations, are discussed along with larger social issues that originate in the home like domesticviolence, child abuse and neglect, and divorce. Ideal for students and general readers alike, books in this series bring the history of everyday people to life.