The Plundering Generation: Corruption And The Crisis Of The Union, 1849-1861

by Mark W. Summers (Editor)

The years following the Civil War have generally been viewed as the "Great Barbecue"--the time when morals broke down in public life and every law and man seemed to be for sale. In a close examination of the 1850s, Mark W. Summers shows that the Barbecue was well under ten years before the war began: embezzling treasurers, bribe-giving lobbyists, office brokers, and claims swindlers were pervasive in antebellum America. Summers contends that corruption, North and South, undermined the Jacksonian party system, irritated sectional jealousies, discredited compromise, and ultimately aided in the death of the Union. A compelling, often lurid tale, the story of the "plundering generation" raises important questions about the significance of corruption for policy-making and American political thought.

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 21, 1988

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Summers does a good job of exploring the corruption of the generation of the fifties, and how this was also a major theme of, and contributor to, the disunion that came in the 1860s. As always his prose style is enjoyable and easy to read.