Research Catalog

Title

Why the North won the Civil War / essays by Henry Steele Commager ... [et al.] ; edited by David Herbert Donald.

Publication

New York : Simon & Schuster, c1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Commager, Henry Steele, 1902-1998
• Donald, David Herbert, 1920-

Description

127 p.; 22 cm.

Summary

• In this classic exploration of the Confederacy's defeat in the Civil War, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner David Herbert Donald and author of Lincoln assembles insightful and probing essays from six of America's most distinguished historians. Focusing on the political, military, economic, social, and diplomatic reasons behind the Union victory, this collection presents the most complete picture of this key aspect of Civil War studies. In an essay new to this edition, Henry Steele Commager offers a historiographical overview of the collapse of the Confederacy. Richard N. Current describes the economic superiority of the North and shows how the civilian resources of the South were dissipated during the war. T. Harry Williams examines the deficiencies of the Southern military strategy and leadership. Norman A. Graebner discusses the reluctance of France and England to aid the South. David Herbert Donald, in his own essay, reports that excessive Southern emphasis on individual freedom fatally undermined military discipline. And David M. Potter suggests that a lack of political leadership in the South resulted in gross incompetence. And exclusively for this edition, the editor has written a new foreword and completely updated the bibliography to create the most comprehensive and enlightening guide to understanding why the North won the Civil War. - Publisher.
• Contains six essays in which the authors examine the reasons why the North won the Civil War, providing an overview of the defeat of the Confederacy, and discussing issues of military leadership, politics, diplomacy, economics, and society.

Subjects

• History
• 1861-1865
• American Civil War > (United States : > 1861-1865)
• Confederate States of America > History
• United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865

Genre/Form

History

Note

• "A Touchstone book."

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-122) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Foreword / David Herbert Donald -- The defeat of the Confederacy : an overview / Henry Steele Commager -- God and the strongest battalions / Richard N. Current -- The military leadership of North and South / T. Harry Williams -- Northern diplomacy and European neutrality / Norman A. Graebner -- Died of democracy / David Herbert Donald -- Jefferson Davis and the political factors in Confederate defeat / David M. Potter -- For further reading.

ISBN

0684825066 (pbk.)

OCLC

• 35848075
• SCSB-11564974

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library