Publisher Description

When Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 prompted several Southern states to secede, the North was sharply divided over how to respond. In this groundbreaking and highly praised book, McClintock follows the decision-making process from bitter partisan rancor to consensus. From small towns to big cities and from state capitals to Washington, D.C., McClintock highlights individuals both powerful and obscure to demonstrate the ways ordinary citizens, party activists, state officials, and national leaders interacted to influence the Northern response to what was essentially a political crisis. He argues that although Northerners' reactions to Southern secession were understood and expressed through partisan newspapers and officials, the decision fell into the hands of an ever-smaller group of people until finally it was Lincoln alone who would choose whether the future of the American republic was to be determined through peace or by sword. |When Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 prompted several Southern states to secede, the North was sharply divided over how to respond. From small towns to big cities and from state capitals to Washington, D.C., McClintock highlights individuals both powerful and obscure to demonstrate the ways ordinary citizens, party activists, state officials, and national leaders interacted to influence the Northern response to what was essentially a political crisis. He argues that the decision fell into the hands of an ever-smaller group of people until finally it was Lincoln alone who would make the decision for war.

Flap

When Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 prompted several Southern states to secede, the North was sharply divided over how to respond. From small towns to big cities and from state capitals to Washington, D.C., McClintock highlights individuals both powerful and obscure to demonstrate the ways ordinary citizens, party activists, state officials, and national leaders interacted to influence the Northern response to what was essentially a political crisis. He argues that the decision fell into the hands of an ever-smaller group of people until finally it was Lincoln alone who would make the decision for war.

Author Biography

Russell McClintock earned his Ph.D. in U.S. history from Clark University and now teaches at St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.

Review

With deft strokes, McClintock describes the various competing concepts of union among Republicans, Democrats and others and discovers that in the end they agreed that representative democracy must oppose disunion or else self-government itself would be lost. . . . More than any other scholar, McClintock incisively shows that in the end the North and Lincoln simply could not let the South go. Highly recommended.--Library Journal, starred review Though McClintock's topic may not be new, his conclusions are. Lincoln and the Decision for War is an important contribution to our understanding of the causes of the American Civil War.--Military History of the West Those interested in better understanding Lincoln's role in the crucial period between his election and the call for volunteers in mid-April 1861 would do well to consult Russell McClintock's new book. . . . Does a fabulous job of uncovering the sense of contingency that existed throughout the nation in the early months.--Louisiana History This fine analytic book anatomizes the currents of need at the time, the efforts of the many varied cultures to cope with them and the results.--Journal of American Cultures Tells this story in a straightforward manner with minimum back tracking. . . . Informative and enjoyable.-- James Durney, independent Book Reviewer Reader[s] will revel in McClintock's attention to detail and presentation of his interpretation and information in this rich narrative. His ability to immerse the reader within the politics and personalities of the nineteenth century is skillful indeed. . . . Should be the one book that scholars and interested readers consult on the matter of Northern attitudes towards secession at the brink of the Civil War.--Virginia Libraries McClintock's well-written and brilliantly analyzed account is a most important contribution to the study of the Civil War. . . . Illuminates the immediate origins. . . . Provides an intimate understanding of the antebellum political system.--The McCormick Messenger McClintock's vision of the period in which events led to a new president's decision to go to war to preserve a union is to comprehend the war, its causes and effects, more deeply, more complexly.--The Advocate McClintock understands . . . the complexity of what was happening in the slave states.--History News Network McClintock transports the reader into the realm of antebellum American brinksmanship. . . . [A] satisfying account.--Civil War Times McClintock contributes greatly to Civil War scholarship and perhaps even helps Army officers understand the current political climate. . . . McClintock has truly mastered his subject.--Military Review It is the rare reader who will not find this an eminently satisfactory book. McClintock has consulted an impressive range of primary sources to construct his narrative, illustrate his points, and support his analysis, and [he] demonstrates a solid grasp of secondary literature.--Journal of Illinois History It is only through such books that we can begin to come to a new, fresher understanding of the origins of the Civil War and the role of northerners in that contest.--Journal of the Early Republic Indispensable for students of political history.--Georgia Historical Quarterly In telling the story so thoughtfully and with such attention to detail, this fine piece of scholarship certainly deserves to take its place alongside the familiar historiographical landmarks.--American Historical Review Ably researched and well-written.--Bowling Green Daily News A worthy addition to Civil War scholarship.--H-Net Reviews A substantial contribution. . . . A fine study that deserves to be read along with the work of Daniel Crofts, Kenneth Stampp, and David Potter.--Journal of Illinois History A fine study.--Sean Wilentz, The New Republic A balanced and erudite examination of the secession crisis from the all too neglected northern political angle. . . . [This] deeply researched study promotes fresh interpretations and insights that are deserving of a wide readership. The literature of the secession winter is appreciably richer for its existence. Highly recommended.--Civil War Books and Authors [This] work should . . . be the beginning of a reappraisal.--The Journal of American History [McClintock's] analysis is exceptionally clear and well written, easily accessible to the layperson as well as the scholar; it stimulates thought about the nature of leadership and crisis management.--Choice [In Lincoln and the Decision for War], McClintock usefully changes the usual focus from Lincoln to a northern public worried about the possibility of war but uncertain how to avert it. . . . Intended to redress an oversight in scholarship, McClintock's study should find favor with general readers interested in the Civil War's immediate origins.--Booklist [A] splendid study. . . . The success of McClintock's book lies not only in its welcome reconsideration of Republican policy but also in its highlighting the crying need for a modern treatment of the secession winter as a national crisis, a climax of decades of sectional dynamics across the North's and the South's porous political and physical borders.--Journal of Southern History [A] highly readable, thoroughly researched, and welcome narrative. . . . McClintock's book has set a high standard--indeed, a Lincolnian one.--Civil War History "Well-written, shows appreciation for the complexity of northern sentiment during the secession crisis, and treats the crisis for the essentially political drama it was.--Civil War Book Review Outstanding book.--Indiana Magazine of History

Long Description

Sheridan Gray has the perfect life: dream job as a hot-shot journalist, ideal boyfriend and demanding parents' approval. That is, until her world crashes around her. Left with few options, she takes a job in what just so happens to be the hometown of the man she blames for everything - is this ever going to be the new startSheridanneeds? When her husband, an aspiring actor, was offered a part inDublin, Nina Fallon never dreamt her own life would become a soap opera. Faced with running her guesthouse alone and denying the idle gossipers, the last thing she needs is her new tenant's eagle-eyed investigations. AsSheridangets closer to the truth, both women struggle to let go of the past. Will they stick to what they know? Or will they find that practice makes perfect and sometimes it's best to move on?

Review Text

Recommended highly, both for those who want to understand the essential significance of modern physics and for those who are concerned with its implications for the possible transformation of the human consciousness

Review Quote

With deft strokes, McClintock describes the various competing concepts of union among Republicans, Democrats and others and discovers that in the end they agreed that representative democracy must oppose disunion or else self-government itself would be lost. . . . More than any other scholar, McClintock incisively shows that in the end the North and Lincoln simply could not let the South go. Highly recommended.-- Library Journal , starred review

Promotional "Headline"

"[A] most exhaustively researched, highly original, and persuasively argued interpretation by Russell McClintock, who views the secession crisis and the run-up to civil war through an entirely political lens. . . . This profoundly conceived and gracefully written book will rightfully be at the center of the [secession crisis] discussion for many years to come."--Harold Holzer, Virginia Magazine

Details