Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Harper Perennial (2011), Edition: New edition, 672 pages
Description
Examines the problems of slavery, expansion, and sectionalism between 1848 and 1861.
Media reviews
Hindsight, the historian's chief asset and his main liability, has enabled all historical writers to know that the decade of the 1850's terminated in a great civil war,"" writes Potter, the dean of Civil War scholars who died in 1971. Challenging hindsight, he achieves both casual coups and
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insights to which others would have devoted whole books--the underestimated firmness of Presidents Taylor and Buchanan, the propaganda buildup of John Brown, the neglected champions of extending the Missouri Compromise westward. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member cyderry
Americans have heard much about the Civil War and how it started over slavery and the attack at Fort Sumter but after finishing this book, the reader realizes that the Civil War was about so much more.
In this book, which spans the era of time from 1848 when Zachary Taylor was elected President
The reason that the book starts with the time period after the Mexican American war is blatantly obvious because of the additional territories acquired in the settlement from Mexico. The political arenas of this era were filled with Northern Abolitionists, Southern Secessionists, and all manner in-between. As the political battles raged, "the South became increasingly a closed society, distrustful of isms from outside and unsympathetic toward dissenters".
Yet the decisions made by the states to attempt secession were not simply on the spur of the moment as sometimes implied by historians, but was discussed and threatened on numerous occasions for several decades. After Lincoln's election 120 days elapsed before his inauguration and during that time, the southern states held numerous conventions to determine their "plan of attack" to the situation. In the time that it took Lincoln to get from Illinois to Washington, the Southerners had held their conventions and created a provisional government and elected Jefferson Davis as their President.
What was the Union doing you ask? President Buchanan was trying to be peacemaker (unsuccessfully) and Lincoln was waiting for his "power". As President-Elect he had none. After taking office, Lincoln had to deal with the various factions and determine his stance and political reactions to the Southern states that had "seceded".
The crisis had arrived and had to be dealt with and Lincoln set about to do just that. His policy was that the Union needed to be preserved at any cost and thus civil war was thrust upon a nation.
So much information to absorb but I'm hoping that this background will help when I move forward from this time period to the actual war itself.
I knew that there were a lot issues related to the Civil War and so I asked someone who I thought was very knowledgeable about the era what book to read. JOYCEPA of the ClubRead group told me that this was one of the best and I want to thank her for the recommendation.
In this book, which spans the era of time from 1848 when Zachary Taylor was elected President
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after the Mexican American War to the first shots at Fort Sumter in 1861, the deluge of information concerning the issues of the time can often be overwhelming. The Southerners were concerned about the apparent efforts of the Northerners to prevent them from continuing their society in the manner of the day and the Northerners were trying to prevent the spread of slavery into the territories.The reason that the book starts with the time period after the Mexican American war is blatantly obvious because of the additional territories acquired in the settlement from Mexico. The political arenas of this era were filled with Northern Abolitionists, Southern Secessionists, and all manner in-between. As the political battles raged, "the South became increasingly a closed society, distrustful of isms from outside and unsympathetic toward dissenters".
Yet the decisions made by the states to attempt secession were not simply on the spur of the moment as sometimes implied by historians, but was discussed and threatened on numerous occasions for several decades. After Lincoln's election 120 days elapsed before his inauguration and during that time, the southern states held numerous conventions to determine their "plan of attack" to the situation. In the time that it took Lincoln to get from Illinois to Washington, the Southerners had held their conventions and created a provisional government and elected Jefferson Davis as their President.
What was the Union doing you ask? President Buchanan was trying to be peacemaker (unsuccessfully) and Lincoln was waiting for his "power". As President-Elect he had none. After taking office, Lincoln had to deal with the various factions and determine his stance and political reactions to the Southern states that had "seceded".
The crisis had arrived and had to be dealt with and Lincoln set about to do just that. His policy was that the Union needed to be preserved at any cost and thus civil war was thrust upon a nation.
So much information to absorb but I'm hoping that this background will help when I move forward from this time period to the actual war itself.
I knew that there were a lot issues related to the Civil War and so I asked someone who I thought was very knowledgeable about the era what book to read. JOYCEPA of the ClubRead group told me that this was one of the best and I want to thank her for the recommendation.
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LibraryThing member bobshackleton
Required reading for anyone interested in American history. One of the ten best works of history I've ever read.
LibraryThing member 5hrdrive
Preliminary review after 400 pages: The prose is a little dense at times, and the author uses so many points to back up his arguments that I sometimes forget what the original argument was, but excellent overall. Potter really does an excellent job of showing how the eventuality of secession was
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actually a coalescing of myriad factors, and not just slavery vs. abolition. Show Less
LibraryThing member sgtbigg
Everything you could possibly want to know about why there was an American Civil War. Gives me a whole different view of the war. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member wildbill
This is a reread of one of my favorite books. This is an excellent narrative history of the political events leading up to the Civil War. I consider it the best book on how the Civil War started that I have read. It is a thick 600 pages and took me a couple of weeks to read. The focus is on the
Each chapter is a detailed analysis of the events that led to secession and Civil War. The emphasis is on the details. For instance the decision to attack Fort Sumter by the Confederate government took place on on April 9, 1861, four years to the day before the surrender at Appomattox. After setting out the choices available based upon the circumstances the author then discusses the decisions that were made and why.
The analysis of the alternatives and choices made lift this book a cut above the standard narrative history. It is not often that I come across this level of scholarship. Another plus is the author's discussion of how many of the events have been dealt with by other historians. I read a lot of the textual footnotes which contain a lot of the most interesting details.
The secondary sources are a little dated but the heavy reliance on primary sources gives me confidence in the author's scholarship.
The author conveyed a very clear understanding of the events and why the actors made the choices they did. In order to fully enjoy the book I think it would be important to have some knowledge of the topic. I enjoyed the book very much and learned a lot more the second time around.
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events more than the personalities. If any character stands out it is Stephen Douglas. His decision to go South at the end of the 1860 presidential campaign to try to save the Union is lauded as an act of courage. President Buchanan is prominent for his poor handling of the Kansas crisis and the Lecompton Constitution.Each chapter is a detailed analysis of the events that led to secession and Civil War. The emphasis is on the details. For instance the decision to attack Fort Sumter by the Confederate government took place on on April 9, 1861, four years to the day before the surrender at Appomattox. After setting out the choices available based upon the circumstances the author then discusses the decisions that were made and why.
The analysis of the alternatives and choices made lift this book a cut above the standard narrative history. It is not often that I come across this level of scholarship. Another plus is the author's discussion of how many of the events have been dealt with by other historians. I read a lot of the textual footnotes which contain a lot of the most interesting details.
The secondary sources are a little dated but the heavy reliance on primary sources gives me confidence in the author's scholarship.
The author conveyed a very clear understanding of the events and why the actors made the choices they did. In order to fully enjoy the book I think it would be important to have some knowledge of the topic. I enjoyed the book very much and learned a lot more the second time around.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Pulitzer Prize (Winner — History — 1977)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1976
Physical description
672 p.; 8.2 x 1.1 inches
ISBN
9780061319297
Local notes
Originally published 1976. Harper Torchbook/Harper Perennial. Pulitzer Prize-winning: the definitive history of antebellum America