The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters, by James McPherson
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The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters, by James McPherson
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More than 140 years ago, Mark Twain observed that the Civil War had "uprooted institutions that were centuries old, changed the politics of a people, transformed the social life of half the country, and wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations". In fact five generations have passed, and Americans are still trying to measure the influence of the immense fratricidal conflict that nearly tore the nation apart.
In The War that Forged a Nation, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James M. McPherson considers why the Civil War remains so deeply embedded in our national psyche and identity. The drama and tragedy of the war, from its scope and size - an estimated death toll of 750,000, far more than the rest of the country's wars combined - to the nearly mythical individuals involved - Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson - help explain why the Civil War remains a topic of interest. But the legacy of the war extends far beyond historical interest or scholarly attention.
McPherson ultimately proves the impossibility of understanding the issues of our own time unless we first understand their roots in the era of the Civil War. From racial inequality and conflict between the North and South to questions of state sovereignty or the role of government in social change - these issues, McPherson shows, are as salient and controversial today as they were in the 1860s.
Thoughtful, provocative, and authoritative, The War That Forged a Nation looks anew at the reasons America's Civil War has remained a subject of intense interest for the past century and a half and affirms the enduring relevance of the conflict for America today.
The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters, by James McPherson - Amazon Sales Rank: #6913 in Audible
- Published on: 2015-06-30
- Released on: 2015-06-30
- Format: Unabridged
- Original language: English
- Running time: 449 minutes
The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters, by James McPherson
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83 of 88 people found the following review helpful. Forget the subtitle - read this for McPherson's insightful essays. By AmazonFan The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters is a collection of essays by author James McPherson, who is considered one of the preeminent scholars on the subject. His Pulitzer Prize winning Battle Cry of Freedom is still considered to be the definitive book on the Civil War.With the exception of two chapters, the essays have all been previously published and cover a multitude of aspects of the conflict. Each is well written and informative but as some others have noted don't really answer the central question posed by the subtitle.McPherson fans will have likely already read most of the material here but for others, there is much to be learned in the vignettes. But I think the subtitle does the book a disservice since it is not an accurate representation of its contents and anyone looking for an answer to that question, particularly in light of the tension-filled race relations of today, will be left wondering why the Civil War still matters.If you forget about the subtitle and read this as an introduction to McPherson's insightful essays on the Civil War, you will not be disappointed.
80 of 85 people found the following review helpful. The chapter on the Mexican War and the conflict over the expansion of slavery into the territories was one of the best sections By Ms Winston James McPherson has compiled a series of short essays, some never before published, on the issue of why, 150 years after it ended, the American Civil War still resonates in the memory of many Americans. 2015 marks the end of the 150th anniversary observances, yet I believe that interest in the war (the causes of the war, the events of the war itself, and the aftermath) has never been higher. As the author points out, correctly in my estimation, the interest now is far more intense than it was in the 1960s when the 100th anniversary was observed. As some one who was in high school and college during that time period, I remember that current events overshadowed the observance -- the Civil Rights movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the death of President John F Kennedy, followed by the murders of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy. McPherson touches on these issues very briefly and also mentions the 13th and 14 Amendments to the Constitution, the latter of which still can cause controversy today, as provisions have been applied to the American-born children ("anchor babies") of people who have entered the United States illegally.McPherson in some regards brushes over the issue of secession as though it were, in his words, a "settled matter," but as one who regularly visits Civil War web sites and blogs, I can tell you that for some the issue is still as alive today as it was in 1860. There are even people today who question that the U.S. Constitution is a binding document because the original intent of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was to amend the Articles of Confederation. They are sometimes the same people who denigrate Lincoln as a "dictator" and they are not confined to the southern states, but rather represent a political point of view that, in my opinion, is antithetical to the aims of the original Republican Party. This is an issue that could have been covered in real depth in this book, but was not. It, along with the 20th century near deification of Confederate General R. E. Lee and the denigration of Union General U. Grant, has been explored in greater depth in other works, but are glossed over in McPherson's latest book.The chapter on the Mexican War and the conflict over the expansion of slavery into the territories was one of the best sections of the book, as the compromisers (Henry Clay being the most famous) began to fall away, either due to death or what some have said was just people getting tired of talking to each other and never getting a permanent fix. The fact that pro-slavery Southerners dominated in so many aspects of national government, coupled with weak presidents, is covered fairly extensively for such a slender book. The section on the concept of a just war is covered as well -- the justification for going to war and the conduct during the war. In the popular imagination, Union General Sherman generally gets the brunt of criticism for the famous march to the sea, while the average person probably knows little or nothing about the massacre of the United States Colored Troops by confederate troops at Ft Pillow and at Petersburg. McPherson points out that in the case of Ft Pillow confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest was present and did not stop his troops, any more than did Lee in the aftermath of the Battle of the Crater. The issue of civilian casualties vs military casualties, one of the reasons why Sherman's march tends to linger in the popular imagination, is covered briefly.McPherson explores the always controversial issue of Lincoln and his views on slavery, which is still today being debated in some quarters. Those who dislike Lincoln tend to endlessly comb his writings and what he said, or was supposed to have said, about "the Negro race" as it was called then. Was Lincoln a racist is discussed is discussed in this chapter, although not in depth because it is a short book, with what I see as McPherson coming down on the side of "no, he was not," but rather a political strategist .. a point of view that Frederick Douglass came to appreciate in his later years. There are other chapters on military aspects that those who are interested in the battles over the political and social aspects on the conflict will perhaps enjoy more and have your own set of opinions to debate.While I give this book four stars, I think that I am somewhat disappointed that more links to the controversies of today were not explored by the author. The election of the first bi-racial president in 2008, while of great important, has not brought about the post-racial society that many though it would..and race has once again become a major political and social issue in the 21st century. I recommend this book as a jumping off place for more in depth discussions of the war and its continued resonance in our country.
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful. Appomatox Casts a Long Shadow By Kevin L. Nenstiel Visit any American bookstore, and head for the History section. Though world history in all its flavors enjoys generous shelf space, two periods occupy the greatest share. World War II and, especially, the American Civil War retain unmatched holds on American imaginations, in ways that bespeak our identity as a nation. If the Revolution created the American state, the Civil War created the American People. Its legacy remains very present, 150 years later.Princeton historian James McPherson, whose half-century career has helped shape current attitudes about the Civil War, purposes here not to create a new history of the American Civil War, but to ruminate upon its import. This proves valuable because, reading along, it’s impossible to miss the resonances between the history McPherson describes, and today’s live issues. In McPherson’s telling, the past is present, and something we must wrestle with to this day.Why did General Grant and Admiral Farragut succeed, while General McClellan and Admiral DuPont failed? The traits which defined our winning commanders still describe what characteristics we seek in politicians, business professionals, and other leaders. Or, how about this question: who freed the slaves? Most Americans reflexively say “Abraham Lincoln” or “the Thirteenth Amendment,” but McPherson musters diverse evidence proving this question defies any single simple answer.McPherson traffics, not in knowledge, but in debates. Many essays respond to, or argue with, other historians, whose opinions and interpretations reveal how hotly contested the Civil War’s heritage remains. These responses sometimes seem inconsistent. In one essay, he disputes Yale theologian Harry Stout’s assertion that the Union cannot claim Just War status under conventional Christian mores. McPherson systematically dismantles Stout’s facts, and presents a persuasive counter-argument.His very next essay, however, rejects Mark Neely’s account that the Civil War was characterized by “remarkable restraint.” Though McPherson says General Sherman “did not even commit the ‘wanton pillage’ of Southern legend,” he nevertheless cannot countenance the claim that a war which killed two percent of the American population showed “restraint.” Thus McPherson demonstrates his greatest point, that the Civil War resists pat answers and simple nationalistic bromides.One essay, “Lincoln, Slavery, and Freedom,” describes how, throughout the war, the Union’s core motivating issue evolved, and with it, the American principle of freedom. North and South were divided by competing definitions of freedom: Southern slaveholders believed Northern regulation impeded economic freedom, the freedom of wealthy individuals to own and exploit other human beings. McPherson quotes Southern documents that precisely echo contemporary Tea Party definitions of freedom.Elsewhere, an essay about General George McClellan, America’s youngest General-in-Chief ever, presents a stark split. McClellan succeeded Winfield Scott in command because his will to execute swift, unambiguous action apparently provided the moral backbone Lincoln demanded. Except, once he assumed command, this gentleman soldier became paranoid, indecisive, and timid. The change in McClellan highlights the gulf between American peacetime and wartime cultures.And McPherson’s final essay stretches beyond the war itself. Radical Republicans attempted to force justice into Southern law, but declared victory around 1877, and went home. Southern Democrats then wrote bigotry, exploitation, and injustice into their laws—laws which remained enforced a full century after fighting ended. Some economic firebrands have attempted, recently, to roll back history to those post-Reconstruction times, forcing McPherson, and us, to ask: who really won the war?This slim book, under 170 pages plus back matter, doesn’t pretend to resolve every question the Civil War raises. Not really a single book, but a collection of twelve essays, McPherson assumes readers’ prior familiarity with Civil War history. His broad view stretches from the war’s roots, in the racialized propaganda of the Mexican-American war, to Reconstruction’s long shadow, when the Confederates who lost the war arguably won the peace.For James McPherson, history isn’t dead accumulations of facts. History encompasses debates about motivations, ways living societies define concepts like “justice” and “freedom,” and what bedrock principles make America truly American. To McPherson, the American state may have begun in 1776 (or 1789), but the American nation, the people who define themselves according to consistent principles and just laws, achieved adulthood between 1861 and 1865.Now, McPherson never explicitly highlights the similarities between Civil War history and the present. He never comments directly upon current events; his historical ruminations only unfold through the Civil Rights Movement, and then only briefly. But he needn’t actually say any more. Attentive readers will observe that, on multiple issues—gun control, economic restraint, leadership, and more—the past is, in McPherson’s telling, visibly present.
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The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters, by James McPherson
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The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters, by James McPherson
The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters, by James McPherson
The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters, by James McPherson
The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters, by James McPherson
