The Confederacy: The Slaveholders' Failed Venture

by Paul D. Escott

Paul Escott's "The Confederacy: The Slaveholders' Failed Venture" offers a unique and multifaceted perspective on the United States' most pivotal and devastating conflict, examining the course of the Civil War from the perspective of the Southern elite class, who were desperate to preserve the "peculiar institution" of its slave-based economy, yet dependent on ordinary Southerners, slaves, and women to sustain the fight for them.

Against the backdrop of the war's military drama and strategic dilemmas, "The Confederacy" brings into sharp focus the racial, class, gender, and political conflicts that helped destabilize the Confederacy from within. Along the way, Escott shows how time and time again, the South's political and economic elite made errors that further weakened a South already facing a Union army with greater numbers and firepower.

Genres: History, Civil War

Hardcover

First published January 28, 1900

About the author

Paul D. Escott is a professor emeritus, historian, and author. He is a professor at Wake Forest University and served as the college's dean for nine years. He has written some 13 books.
He graduated with a B.A. from Harvard College and with M.A. and P.h.D. degrees from Duke University.