Civil War Podcast, Episode 24

In which we continue our discussion of secession by asking if the southern states had a right to secede, or if secession was rebellion. Then, we look at the message the secession commissioners spread throughout the South in late 1860/early 1861.

Plus, there’s a special announcement at the end of this episode!

Our book recommendation for this episode is Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War by Charles B. Dew.

“This incisive history should dispel the pernicious notion that the Confederacy fought the Civil War to advance the constitutional principle of states’ rights and only coincidentally to preserve slavery.” ~ Allen D. Boyer, New York Times Book Review

Listen to Episode 24: RebellionSugarcoated

Civil War Podcast, Episode 23

In which we look at the fact that seven southern states withdrew from the Union between Abraham Lincoln’s election and his inaugural. We answer the question: What caused the secession of these states?

Our book recommendation for this episode is We Have the War Upon Us: The Onset of the Civil War, November 1860-April 1861 by William J. Cooper.

“Written from the perspectives of Americans who experienced the efforts to forestall disunion and war during the five months between November 1860 and April 1861… this book captures the drama and tensions of those perilous times. Especially noteworthy is Cooper’s treatment of William H. Seward, whose struggles to patch together a compromise form the main thread running through this important book.” ~ James M. McPherson

Listen to Episode 23: SecessionFever

Civil War Podcast, Episode 22

In which we discuss the reasons behind the collapse of the Democratic Party, the resulting four-way contest for the presidency, and Abraham Lincoln’s victory on Election Day, November 6, 1860.

Our book recommendation for this episode is Year of Meteors: Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Election that Brought On the Civil War by Douglas R. Egerton.

“Well-informed, judicious, and lively political history. Douglas Egerton has a sharp eye for telling biographical details, and he deploys them to great analytical and narrative effect.” ~ Bruce Levine, author of Half Slave and Half Free

Listen to Episode 22: Election1860

Civil War Podcast, Episode 21

In which we take a look at the February, 1860 address that was the most important speech of Abraham Lincoln’s political life. The Cooper Union speech in New York City catapulted Abraham Lincoln to the White House.

Our book recommendation for this episode is Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech that Made Abraham Lincoln President by Harold Holzer.

“Few people know more about Abraham Lincoln than Holzer. This fine new work focuses on a widely known but little studied address that Lincoln delivered in early 1860 in New York City… Surely no one will again overlook this masterful speech.” ~ Publishers Weekly

Listen to Episode 21: LincolnCooperUnion

Civil War Podcast, Episode 20

In which we discuss the importance of John Brown’s assault on the federal arsenal & armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in October 1859.

Our book recommendation for this episode is Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz.

“With his customary blend of rich archival research, on-location color, and lyrical prose, Tony Horwitz has delivered a John Brown book for our time. Part biography, part historical narrative, Midnight Rising is a riveting re-creation of the Harper’s Ferry raid, told with an unblinking sense of Brown’s tragic place in American history. Writing with enveloping detail and a storyteller’s verve, Horwitz shows why Brown was- and still is- so troubling and important to our culture.” ~ David W. Blight

Listen to Episode 20: JohnBrownPartFirst

Civil War Podcast, Episode 19

LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES (Part the Second)

In which we continue our coverage of the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates in 1858.

Our book recommendations for this episode are:

Stephen A. Douglas by Robert Johannsen. About this book, Lincoln scholar David Herbert Donald said, “At once a work of enormous scholarship and of deep insight. Here, for the first time, is the full story of a great career, told with such skill that we can now understand why Abraham Lincoln found the ‘Little Giant’ the most formidable political rival he ever faced.”

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. About this book, Pulitzer-Prize winning Lincoln historian Mark E. Neely Jr said, “The best biography of Lincoln I have ever read.”

Listen to Episode 19: LincolnDouglasDebatesPartSecond

Civil War Podcast, Episode 18

LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES (Part the First)

In which we give the background to the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, and then we start in on our coverage of the debates.

Our book recommendation for this episode is Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America by Allen C. Guelzo.

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln was known as a successful Illinois lawyer. Two years later, he was elected president. What carried this one-term congressman from obscurity to fame was the campaign he mounted for the United States Senate against the country’s most formidable politician. As this brilliant narrative by the prize-winning Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo dramatizes, Lincoln would emerge a predominant national figure, the leader of his party, and the man who would bear the burden of the national confrontation.