by
Gallagher, Gary W.
Call Number
973.7 22
Publication Date
2011
Summary
Even one hundred and fifty years later, we are haunted by the Civil War, by its division, its bloodshed, and its origins. Today, many believe that the war was fought over slavery. This answer satisfies our contemporary sense of justice, but as the author shows in this revisionist history, it is an anachronistic judgment. In a searing analysis of the Civil War North as revealed in contemporary letters, diaries, and documents, he demonstrates that what motivated the North to go to war and persist in an increasingly bloody effort was primarily preservation of the Union. Devotion to the Union bonded nineteenth-century Americans in the North and West against a slaveholding aristocracy in the South and a Europe that seemed destined for oligarchy. Northerners believed they were fighting to save the republic, and with it the world's best hope for democracy. Once we understand the centrality of union, we can in turn appreciate the force that made northern victory possible: the citizen-soldier. The author reveals how the massive volunteer army of the North fought to confirm American exceptionalism by salvaging the Union. Contemporary concerns have distorted the reality of nineteenth-century Americans, who embraced emancipation primarily to punish secessionists and remove slavery as a future threat to union goals that emerged in the process of war. As the book recovers why and how the Civil War was fought, we gain a more honest understanding of why and how it was won.
Format:
Electronic Resources
Relevance:
228024.8594
by
Ramseur, Stephen Dodson, 1837-1864.
Call Number
973.782 22
Publication Date
2010
Summary
Stephen Dodson Ramseur (1837-1865) rose meteorically through the Confederate military ranks. He excelled in every assignment and was involved as a senior officer in many of the war's most important conflicts east of the Appalachians. His letters--over 180 of which are collected and transcribed here by George Kundahl--provide his incisive observations on these military events. At the same time, they offer rare insight into the personal opinions of a high-ranking Civil War officer.
Format:
Electronic Resources
Relevance:
118961.2500
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by
Ayers, Edward L., 1953-
Call Number
975.503 22
Publication Date
2006
Format:
Electronic Resources
Relevance:
118182.3203
by
Lawton, M. Powell (Mortimer Powell), 1923-2001.
Call Number
362.505 22
Publication Date
1994
Format:
Electronic Resources
Relevance:
0.1793
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