Category Archives: antebellum

Civil War Podcast, Episode 8

In which we look at the Presidential Election of 1848 (Zachary Taylor wins!), the crisis over California’s admission to the Union as a free state (which nearly led to disunion & civil war), and how Henry Clay stepped into the breach and laid the groundwork that allowed Stephen A. Douglas to save the day with the Compromise of 1850.

Our book recommendation for this episode is At the Edge of the Precipice: Henry Clay and the Compromise that Saved the Union by Robert V. Remini. “In 1850, America hovered on the brink of disunion. Tensions between slaveholders and abolitionists mounted, as the debate over slavery grew rancorous. The addition of vast new territory in the wake of the Mexican war prompted Northern politicians to demand that new states remain free; in response, Southerners baldly threatened to secede from the Union. Only Henry Clay, America’s Great Compromiser, could keep the union together.”

Listen to Episode 8: Compromise1848

Civil War Podcast, Episode 7

WAR WITH MEXICO (Part the Third)

Winfield Scott (1786-1866)

In which we continue our discussion of America’s war with Mexico. We follow along as Major General Winfield Scott makes the dramatic decision to cut loose from his supply lines and march on Mexico City. We also continue putting the spotlight on some American officers, almost all West Point graduates, who fight in Mexico & then go on to some measure of fame in the Civil War. Plus, a fellow named Abraham Lincoln makes his first appearance in the podcast.

Our book recommendation for this episode is The Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomattox- Stonewall Jackson, George McClellan, and their Brothers by John C Waugh. In this collective biography, Waugh follows this class of West Pointers from the U.S. Military Academy to Mexico to the Civil War. The West Point class of 1846 graduated 59 men: 10 of them- including Stonewall Jackson- became Confederate generals; 12- including George McClellan- wore the stars for the Union.

Listen to Episode 7: MexicanWarPartThird

Civil War Podcast, Episode 6

Battle of Buena Vista
February 23, 1847

WAR WITH MEXICO (Part the Second)

Zachary Taylor (1784-1850)

In which we continue our discussion of America’s war with Mexico. We cover the military action out west in California & New Mexico, then we talk about a different kind of battle that raged in Congress over something called the Wilmot Proviso. Finally, we head back down to the Rio Grande and follow along as Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey & then wins the hard-fought Battle of Buena Vista in February 1847.

Zachary Taylor on Old Whitey
at Buena Vista.

Our book recommendation for this episode is A Country of Vast Designs: James K Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W Merry. About this NY Times Bestseller, Publishers Weekly said: “Using a broad spectrum of published and archival sources, Merry depicts Polk as an unabashed expansionist. His political career was devoted to expanding American power across the continent. Polk saw the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny as transcending even the festering issue of slavery… Merry makes a strong case that Polk’s America embraced a sweeping vision of national destiny that he fulfilled. Merry’s conclusion that history turns not on morality but on power, energy and will may be uncomfortable, but he successfully illustrates it.”

Listen to Episode 6: MexicanWarPartSecond

Civil War Podcast, Episode 5

WAR WITH MEXICO (Part the First)

In which we relate how tensions rose along the United States’ southern border, and then how hostilities commenced in April 1846. This is the first of two (or three) episodes we will use to cover America’s war with Mexico.

Our book recommendation for this show is , So Far from God: The U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848 by John S.D. Eisenhower. “This is the story of one of the strangest, hardest fought, least known, and most important wars in American history. It is also the story of the spirit of an age: Manifest Destiny and the expansion of a young, robust, and restless nation. The tale begins with the Alamo, or, rather, with the United States remembering the Alamo by annexing the Lone Star republic of Texas and then invading Mexico. When it ends, more than half of Mexico- including the present-day states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado- will belong to the United States.”

Listen to Episode 5: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML5524623995.mp3?updated=1694269369

Civil War Podcast, Episode 4

In which we talk about the Tariff of Abominations, the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833, and we wonder who had the pre-Civil War era’s most impressive head of hair: John C. Calhoun or Andrew Jackson. Plus, Manifest Destiny beckons and we set the stage for war with Mexico in 1846.

Our book recommendation for this episode is Disunion! : The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859 by Elizabeth R. Varon. A review in North & South magazine said, “Meticulously researched and beautifully assembled, Disunion will become the standard text for students and scholars interested in this tumultuous chapter in American history.”

You may notice some different music at the beginning & end of episode 4. We want to thank the good folks at Spiritwood Music for giving us permission to use their song Midnight On the Water from the album Cabin Fever. You can find the Spiritwood Music Northwoods Ensemble on iTunes, Amazon, or at their website www.spiritwoodmusic.com

Listen to Episode 4: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML2072155593.mp3?updated=1694186664

Civil War Podcast, Episode 3

In which we take a look at the acrimonious debate surrounding the Missouri Crisis, and Henry Clay of Kentucky’s pivotal role in brokering the Compromise of 1820.

Our book recommendations for this episode is The Missouri Compromise and Its Aftermath: Slavery and the Meaning of America by Robert Pierce Forbes. The inside flap of this book says that the author “goes behind the scenes of the crucial Missouri Compromise, the most important sectional crisis before the Civil War, to reveal the high-level deal-making, diplomacy, and deception that defused the crisis…”

Listen to Episode 3: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML8851342507.mp3?updated=1694099766

Civil War Podcast, Episode 2

In which we take a look back to see why slavery was such a thorny issue and how it played a major role in shaping & defining the early American political landscape.

We have two book recommendations for this episode. The first is What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 by Daniel Walker Howe. This hefty tome won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in History, but it’s probably more for the serious-minded student of history, so…

For those of you not wishing to jump right into the deep end of the pool, we’re also recommending another Pulitzer Prize-winning history book. It’s Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James McPherson. This book provides a comprehensive narrative of the period, but is a bit more accessible to the general reader.

Listen to Episode 2: SlaveryAndPolitics

Civil War Podcast, Episode 1

INTRODUCTION

In which we give an introduction to the podcast, and share why we think the Civil War is still deserving of study & attention today. Plus, you find out which one of us is a Yankee and which of us hails from south of the Mason-Dixon Line!

Our book recommendation for this episode is the newest edition of an old classic: “The American Heritage New History of the Civil War.”

Listen to Episode 1: Introduction