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Book an excellent introduction to Civil War
"Disunion! The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859" "Disunion!" is the first book in the University of North Carolina Press' new series, The Littlefield History of the Civil War Era. Elizabeth R. Varon, a professor of history at Temple University and an authority on the Civil War and social and political issues thereof, has written the first book in what is to be a sweeping, grand collection of books concerning various aspects of the Civil War written by leading experts. Varon's "Disunion!", expectedly, will be the first volume by which the rest of the series shall to an extent be considered and judged and her task is thus more daunting than that of other authors. Thankfully for all concerned, readers included, Varon's book could not have been a better introduction to the Civil War era nor a better, more consummate, book by any standard. While most Americans understand the general issues of slavery and states' rights that brought about the Civil War as the Confederate States found themselves more and more at odds with their northern counterparts, the nuances at hand are perhaps more confusing and "Disunion!" does a great service in explaining how decades of mistrust and difference brought about the final seperation of the Confederate and Union states into two nations. What may surprise most readers is that whispers of the secessionists were stirring as early as 1789 and that beyond its concept of a slave-holding nation, the Confederate states saw themselves as markedly different from the North. Varon is no stranger to writing about the Civil War and her background shows as she writes about various elements of the early days of Southern discontent in a nimble manner, sourcing in many varied aspects of plantation life and the economy of the day. Varon, as a writer who has made women's studies in the Civil War era a forte of her scholarship, also is skilled at looking at cultural currents of the time and a real feeling for the lives of various Southerners is provided. Politicos, planters, and writers in the North and the South alike all played key roles in changing the course of the United States. Some, such as Andrew Jackson, whom I had a rather good idea about prior to this book, I nonetheless learned more about due to Varon's astute research. The effort of Northern abolitionist writers (and some Southerners also) to abolish slavery played a very central part in the discourse of not only the abolitionist movement but debate over how the South was different from the North and how different economies could be brought together in harmony. It is through this level of close inspection that Varon is able to demonstrate the vast field of issues and opinions at play in the years before the Civil War. The concept of Northerners holding a high, moralistic, degree of empathy for the plight of slaves has long been the leading view of the abolitionists, but while such was true the political motives of the North also came forth in their approach taken to slave-holding states. Slaves, though a true concern in human terms, were also a pawn in the larger power struggle between North and South. Many in Washington and elsewhere in the Federal system of the time viewed the Southern situation with alarm as the South grew in economic importance and population and voiced growing desire to have more agency in national affairs. States' rights, long the central motif of the Civil War from the Southern vantage point, are treated in great detail here while the mix of women's movements, abolitionism, and the progress of churches in their social roles plus the development of a still young nation all came together to formulate a spectrum of views and a host of issues. The Baptist and Methodist churches, in example, had split into regional associations by the time of the Civil War in the South due to differing views within these churches germane to slavery. I have never before, despite reading about two books on the Civil War per week, encountered as clear and engaging explanations of how all the cofactors of disunion came together as those provided by Varon. It is one thing to have the academic powers to research so many topics and so thoughfully but another still to be able to present them in a clear and focused manner yet from the muddle of many contrasting themes and varied persons, Varon presents a complete whole. Until one reads this book, it is hard to fully appreciate (and thus hard also to convey here) how strong its writing is and also how difficult a task Varon had before her in trying to tie together all the different aspects of pre-Civil War America which came together to fuel the War. Between 1789 and 1859 the new United States of America went through some serious changes and faced expected discontent: the North saw the slave-based system of labor as cruel yet did not fully understand the ecomonic situation of the South while the Southern states felt that despite their wealth and work, they were neglected in national affairs by the North and also were being instructed in how to run not only their politics but their very way of life by people who did not know that way of life. Many of the themes that arose in the Revolution and fights between loyalists to the Crown and advocates of an independent nation surfaced time and again in pre-Civil War discourse. For the Littlefield History of the Civil War Era to meet its goals, a very powerful and clear introduction to the Civil War era and how this era was formed via politics and culture in the times prior to it was imperative. Elizabeth Varon has provided that history, in her book "Disunion!" and this book easily ranks as one of the best books I have ever read about the Civil War or this period of American history.
MIKE WALKER is a writer and journalist based in Gainesville, Florida. He covers topics germane to history, military history, and ecology for this and other news media and has published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals in the fields of history, the life sciences, and the liberal arts. He may be reached via email at: cloudrace@prontomail.com |
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