The Road to Disunion: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854: Volume I

This is one of those must-have books for anyone interested in the origins and causes of America's bloodiest conflict. Author William Freehling focuses not only on the seeds of sectional disunion, between North and South, but places particular emphasis on the disunion within the South itself. It was this political and social reality that long delayed secession and war. "The Road to Disunion" tells a complicated tale, peopled by larger than life characters (among them, Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay); it is a story that Freehling takes us through step by step to 1854--through the Missouri Compromise, the Nullification Crisis, the Annexation of Texas, the Compromise of 1850. Each event is one more inexorable step down that terrible road, at the end of which, unbeknownst to those involved, lay national tragedy. And lurking just below the surface at every turn and straightaway was the major divisive issue that remained unresolved at the birth of the United States--slavery. Like Kenneth Stampp ("America in 1857") and most other modern historians, Freehling dismisses the revisionism that dominated the history of the antebellum period for much of the first half of the twentieth century. While tariffs, internal improvements, and other issues certainly contributed to the eventual break between the two halves of the nation, it was the attempts by slaveholders to protect the "peculiar institution" that was the root cause of civil war. By manipulating the democratic process, often through undemocratic means, the "Slave Power", a minority in the greater republic, was able to protect its interests and to expand slavery into new territories. Almost no one comes off smelling like roses in Freehling's account, particularly not the southern wing of the Democratic party and its "doughface" northern allies, who between them bear much of the responsibility for the coming conflagration.In reading some of the other reviews of Freehling's book, I noticed that many readers found his prose difficult. It does have an odd rhythm to it, I'll admit, but once I was past the first few pages I found my self caught up in the flow of words. In the end, I have probably reread this book on an average of once per year. I look forward to the long-promised Volume 2.

Although the author often employs difficult sentence structure, this book is a monumental victory in the comprehension of this most difficult topic. Of all the Civil War material I have read, I find this book among the most difficult and rewarding. If you are really interested in probing CW studies, this one is probably for you. If you are a more casual CW reader, you may want to save it for a future time. I am eagerly looking forward to volume II.

For anyone who has been interested in the impact of slavery upon America's soul, Freehling's opus is a must. Yes it is long, yes it is painfully detailed, yes at times it can border on being a polemic (particularly in Freehling's discussion of Thomas Jefferson); however, it is thorough, researched in depth, very informative and highly persuasive. My only recommendation to the author would be to use fewer adjectives and adverbs in describing "the peculiar institution"; his otherwise objective research says it all and bears up well under its own scholarship. What I learned from "Road to Disunion" is that the question of our nation's expansion during the first 80 years of the Union cannot be understood without knowledge of the national debate and the political maneuvering to extend or limit slavery's expansion during this same time period. And Freehling goes beyond the political archives which record how county and state and national assemblies voted on slavery and other tangential issues. He discusses the psychology of slavery itself - the mindset the slave owner foisted upon the slave, and the ensuing tension which resulted when slave and abolitionist did not buy into this mindset. Freehling's work was a challenge to digest (I am no scholar) but I consider myself a better informed citizen with greater appreciation of the shape of America today because of his research of America's past.

Mr. Freehling states in his preface that he had originally planned on writing about the Southern secession crisis of 1860-61, but he quickly realized that the subject was far too complicated to adequately and thoroughly cover it in such a limited time period. He discovered that, in order to give a complete picture of the road to disunion, he had to begin his study around the mid-1700s. After reading the result of his work, The Road to Disunion, I could understand and appreciate why he had to do so. This remarkable book covers the very complicated and, amazingly, still controversial topic of Southern secession with clarity, thoroughness, and even wit. Mr. Freehling chronicles the political and social history of the South and its place in American history in a way that is highly informative, highly researched, and highly readable.Mr. Freehling relies heavily on the actual words of the southern political and social elite to paint a detailed and absorbing picture of ! the various crises that incrementally pulled the US apart. He provides the reader with a wealth of information and details on the Gag Rule Controversy, the Missouri Compromise, and the annexation of Texas among others, and his skill as an historian and as a writer make all these events extremely clear and understandable for perhaps the first time. He also gives the reader a richly detailed portrait of the South that cracks, if not shatters, the idea of "a unified South". Mr. Freehling describes the diversity of the region, the differences in commerce, in attitudes, in climate, and ultimately, the people. This absorbing portrait allows the reader to see the South in three dimensions, and makes the accomplishment of bringing most of the south into a southern confederacy through the efforts of southern political leaders such as Robert Barnwell Rhett, Howell Cobb, and John C. Calhoun much more intriguing.Ultimately, The Road to Disunion accomplishes one major tas! k; it demonstrates that the issue of slavery was THE primar! y factor in the breakup of the Union. Freehling shows that the Civil War was a direct result of a history of Southern political and class arrogance, of a small group of influential people clinging to an antiquated feudal system that enslaved a race of people, and a series of subsequent clashes between ideologies. Great-grandpa Silas may have rightly said he was fighting for his rights or to protect his home and family, but the causes of the conflict in which he fought have much more complicated beginnings. Regardless of Silas' motives, he was by default fighting for the preservation of slavery.

Freehling's "The road to disunion" is a masterful political history of the secession movement from its origin to the mid-1850s. This is very detailed, richly documented, and draws from original letters and official documents. But this is NOT a dry history - it's also storytelling at its best, and historical figures are characterized richly. This book will not be politically correct in Sons of Confederate Veterans circles. But if you want to find out what really went on in the Missourri compromise, or the annexation of Texas - well, chapters 20-25 are a history of Texas annexation which I wasn't taught in school.