The Civil War: A Concise Account by a Noted Southern Historian

In less than one-hundred and fifty pages McWhiney details events leading up to the War Between the States and the major battles and events of that war. After all the many books any of us interested in the history of this terrible event have read, such a small volume may appear to be a triviality. I thought so when a friend proposed I read it, but upon scanning it I found out otherwise. This is both a great aide memoir for those familiar with the subject and a fine introduction for the new reader . There are a number of reasons I say this: first, after an introduction by Donald Frazier giving the geographic circumstances of early nineteenth century America, Mc Whiney takes his reader in short, clear paragraphs through Clay, Calhoun And Webster and the Fugitive Slave Law. The Missouri Compromise,the Kansas Nebraska act and the admission of Texas are neatly discussed, and what this meant to the election of 1856 and the role of these events in the Lincoln -Douglas debates follows. The Dred Scott decision and the Supreme Court's upsetting legislative compromise is also touched. How the split in the Democrat party and the Know-nothing elected Lincoln is the eventual consequence of all that. From there to conflict, with useful maps and details, the text works its way through the war. Second, while the politics of the era is discussed, it does not stand alone. McWhiney provides numerous examples of data which put events in context. For example, one chart/map shows slave populations in 1810 and 1860. A surprise is the comparative slave populations of secessionist South Carolina and unionist Maryland. The dwindling slave population in the north, New Jersey for example goes from 12, 000 to 2,000 in these thirty years, leads to some understanding of how slavery was expected to wither as an institution, but the increase in the south made for conflicting experiences. Throughout this volume, such telling data surface: populations, production, agriculture, exports arms manufacturing and the horrifing casualties. Finally, the clear, precise English of the author is a joy. No obscure theorizing, no guessing. Paragraphs announce the topic sentence and move detail by detail through proof of the statement. A writing teacher could use this as a guidebook on the art of the expository essay. In closing, I have read numerous books on these events, have walked many of the major battlefields, and have had more than a few discussions of the war. I am happy to have added this volume to my library and would tell anyone, including scholarly authors whom I know, that this is an essential.

The Civil War: A Concise Account By A Noted Southern Historian from the collective studies and historical perceptions of Grady McWhiney (Founder of the Grady McWhiney Foundation) is an invaluable compendium providing the reader with an overall understandings and historical survey of the American Civil War. Diligently compiled within 144 pages, The Civil War is inclusive of 11 maps with very detailed and in-depth depictions and essays of the Civil War's battles, campaigns, victories and demises, vividly and accurately detailing key particulars of the conflict. The Civil War: A Concise Account By A Noted Southern Historian is very strongly recommended, to all students of American History, most particularly those with an interest in the Civil War for its informative study not found elsewhere.