Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War EraOxford University Press, 11. dets 2003 - 952 pages Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War. James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War--the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry--and then moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself--the battles, the strategic maneuvering on both sides, the politics, and the personalities. Particularly notable are McPherson's new views on such matters as the slavery expansion issue in the 1850s, the origins of the Republican Party, the causes of secession, internal dissent and anti-war opposition in the North and the South, and the reasons for the Union's victory. The book's title refers to the sentiments that informed both the Northern and Southern views of the conflict: the South seceded in the name of that freedom of self-determination and self-government for which their fathers had fought in 1776, while the North stood fast in defense of the Union founded by those fathers as the bulwark of American liberty. Eventually, the North had to grapple with the underlying cause of the war--slavery--and adopt a policy of emancipation as a second war aim. This "new birth of freedom," as Lincoln called it, constitutes the proudest legacy of America's bloodiest conflict. This authoritative volume makes sense of that vast and confusing "second American Revolution" we call the Civil War, a war that transformed a nation and expanded our heritage of liberty. |
From inside the book
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Page 4
... newspaper articles claiming credit for American victories . The president recalled his own envoy for appearing to be too soft toward the Mexicans ; Trist ignored the recall and negotiated a treaty which obtained all of Mexico that Polk ...
... newspaper articles claiming credit for American victories . The president recalled his own envoy for appearing to be too soft toward the Mexicans ; Trist ignored the recall and negotiated a treaty which obtained all of Mexico that Polk ...
Page 12
... newspapers , the country's principal medium of communication . The price of a single issue dropped from six cents in 1830 to one or two cents by 1850. Circulation increased twice as fast as population . The " latest news " became hours ...
... newspapers , the country's principal medium of communication . The price of a single issue dropped from six cents in 1830 to one or two cents by 1850. Circulation increased twice as fast as population . The " latest news " became hours ...
Page 13
... newspapers ( like Hor- ace Greeley's New York Tribune ) to farmers a thousand miles away , where they shaped political sentiments . In 1848 several major newspa- pers pooled resources to form the Associated Press for the handling of ...
... newspapers ( like Hor- ace Greeley's New York Tribune ) to farmers a thousand miles away , where they shaped political sentiments . In 1848 several major newspa- pers pooled resources to form the Associated Press for the handling of ...
Page 29
... newspaper reported in 1860 that " of all the multitude of young men engaged in various employments of this city , there is not one who does not desire , and even confidently expect , to become rich . " 35 The Gospel of Success produced ...
... newspaper reported in 1860 that " of all the multitude of young men engaged in various employments of this city , there is not one who does not desire , and even confidently expect , to become rich . " 35 The Gospel of Success produced ...
Page 38
... newspapers , the book condemned slavery out of the slaveowners ' own mouths . Among hundreds of similar items in the book ... newspaper : " NEGROES FOR SALE.A negro woman 24 years of age , and two children , one eight and the other three ...
... newspapers , the book condemned slavery out of the slaveowners ' own mouths . Among hundreds of similar items in the book ... newspaper : " NEGROES FOR SALE.A negro woman 24 years of age , and two children , one eight and the other three ...
Contents
3 | |
6 | |
47 | |
78 | |
4 Slavery Rum and Romanism | 117 |
5 The Crime Against Kansas | 145 |
6 Mudsills and Greasy Mechanics for A Lincoln | 170 |
7 The Revolution of 1860 | 202 |
17 Carry Me Back to Old Virginny | 511 |
18 John Bulls Virginia Reel | 546 |
19 Three Rivers in Winter 18621863 | 568 |
20 Fire in the Rear | 591 |
The Summer of 63 | 626 |
22 Johnny Rebs Chattanooga Blues | 666 |
23 When This Cruel War Is Over | 689 |
24 If It Takes All Summer | 718 |
8 The Counterrevolution of 1861 | 234 |
The Upper Souths Dilemma | 276 |
10 Amateurs Go to War | 308 |
Illustrations | 332 |
11 Farewell to the Ninety Days War | 339 |
The SaltWater War 18611862 | 369 |
13 The River War in 1862 | 392 |
14 The Sinews of War | 428 |
15 Billy Yanks Chickahominy Blues | 454 |
16 We Must Free the Slaves or Be Ourselves Subdued | 490 |
25 After Four Years of Failure | 751 |
26 We Are Going To Be Wiped Off the Earth | 774 |
27 South Carolina Must Be Destroyed | 807 |
28 We Are All Americans | 831 |
To the Shoals of Victory | 853 |
Afterword | 863 |
Abbreviated Titles | 868 |
Bibliographic Note | 870 |
Index | 888 |
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Common terms and phrases
abolitionists Alexander Stephens American antislavery Army of Tennessee artillery attack Banks Baton Rouge battle Beauregard became blockade Bragg brigade Bruce Catton campaign captured casualties cavalry Civil command Confederacy Confederate Congress Constitution convention copperheads corps cotton declared defenses Democrats Diary division Douglas Dred Scott election emancipation enemy federal fight flank force Frémont fugitive slave law Georgia governor Grant Halleck infantry Jackson James Jefferson Davis John Johnston July June Kansas Kentucky labor Lee's legislature liberty Lincoln Longstreet March McClellan miles military Mississippi Missouri Negro Nevins newspaper North Carolina northern officers Ohio party peace percent political Potomac president prisoners quoted railroad rebels regiments Republican retreat Richmond river secession seemed Senate Seward Sherman slave slavery soldiers South southern Sumter Tennessee territory tion troops Union army unionists United Vicksburg victory Virginia vote Washington West Whigs William wrote Yankees York York Tribune