FORT SUMTER (Part the First)
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| Robert Anderson (1805-1871) |
In which we discuss the events surrounding the growing crisis over the possession of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor.
Our book recommendation for this episode is Days of Defiance: Sumter, Secession, and the Coming of the Civil War by Maury Klein.
“Splendid… A riveting story, and Klein has retold it surpassingly well.” ~ The Washington Post Book World
Listen to Episode 30: FortSumterPartFirst
ESCALATING CRISIS
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| James Buchanan (1791-1868) |
In which we head back north of the Mason-Dixon Line to see what was going on in Springfield, Illinois & Washington, D.C. during the steady escalation of the secession crisis.
Our book recommendation for this episode is Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter of 1860-1861 by Harold Holzer.
“This is a stunningly original work that casts completely new light on the most turbulent and critical presidential transition in American history. Holzer’s superb narrative skill, along with his abundant use of colorful details, creates an atmosphere of such immediacy that the reader feels transported back to ‘the Great Secession Winter’ as an eyewitness to Lincoln’s gifted leadership during this dramatic period. This groundbreaking book will take its place with the most valuable and indispensable works in the Lincoln canon.” ~ Doris Kearns Goodwin
Listen to Episode 28: EscalatingCrisis
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| First national flag of the C.S.A. with seven stars, March-May 1861 |
In which we discuss the birth of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama in February 1861.
Our book recommendation for this episode is Look Away! A History of the Confederate States of America by William C. Davis.
“Behind the masks of the Confederate armies was a government and a home front far removed from the ‘moonlight and magnolia’ traditions too often presented. Davis has produced a pathbreaking work in every sense. Concentrating on political, social, and economic subjects, this book is so revealing that it will surely become a basic reference work in Civil War history.” ~ James I. Robertson, Jr, author of Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend
Listen to Episode 25: ConfederateStatesAmerica
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
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