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The War Between the States: America's Uncivil War
Whether your ancestors donned the uniform of Billy Yank or Johnny Reb — or even if they took no part in the great conflict that divided North and South — every American today needs to understand the causes and implications of the War Between the States. No other event has so vividly underscored our strengths and weaknesses as a people and as a nation, and no other event has so changed our citizenry and our government.
Back in print for the 150th anniversary of the War, this lavishly illustrated resource was not published to provoke new hostilities, but so Americans might better understand the hot and brutal passions that exploded into a bloody quarrel between brothers.
John Dwyer’s personal study into the dusty records from the past answers these and a host of other questions, providing keen insights into this 19th-century conflict that has important parallels to specific challenges our nation faces today. Few events in America’s history have been as influential — or as complicated — as the bloody war between our southern and northern states. Yet Dwyer deftly cuts through the “politically correct” and revisionist confusion to present clear lessons from America’s uncivil war.
To set the conflict in context, Dwyer has compiled numerous source documents on the development of social and religious ideas that preceded secession and war, excerpts of which are featured in sidebars throughout the book. The key battles and military campaigns are described in detail as well, depicting how they affected soldiers and civilians alike. And the changes to American society, attitudes, and new trends in Constitutional legislation that followed the war are also carefully explained in this groundbreaking work.
Featuring research and articles from George Grant, J. Steven Wilkins, Douglas Wilson, and Tom Spencer, this beautifully-designed, 700-page hardback resource also showcases the paintings of John Paul Strain, and includes nearly 500 photographs, maps, and charts, as well as dozens of biographies of politicians, theologians, writers, soldiers, inventors, spies, nurses, and journalists.
Back in print for the 150th anniversary of the War, this lavishly illustrated resource was not published to provoke new hostilities, but so Americans might better understand the hot and brutal passions that exploded into a bloody quarrel between brothers.
John Dwyer’s personal study into the dusty records from the past answers these and a host of other questions, providing keen insights into this 19th-century conflict that has important parallels to specific challenges our nation faces today. Few events in America’s history have been as influential — or as complicated — as the bloody war between our southern and northern states. Yet Dwyer deftly cuts through the “politically correct” and revisionist confusion to present clear lessons from America’s uncivil war.
To set the conflict in context, Dwyer has compiled numerous source documents on the development of social and religious ideas that preceded secession and war, excerpts of which are featured in sidebars throughout the book. The key battles and military campaigns are described in detail as well, depicting how they affected soldiers and civilians alike. And the changes to American society, attitudes, and new trends in Constitutional legislation that followed the war are also carefully explained in this groundbreaking work.
Featuring research and articles from George Grant, J. Steven Wilkins, Douglas Wilson, and Tom Spencer, this beautifully-designed, 700-page hardback resource also showcases the paintings of John Paul Strain, and includes nearly 500 photographs, maps, and charts, as well as dozens of biographies of politicians, theologians, writers, soldiers, inventors, spies, nurses, and journalists.
685 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 2007
5 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
John J. Dwyer
13 books21 followersJohn J. Dwyer is a popular author and speaker and is Adjunct Professor of History at both Southern Nazarene University and Oklahoma City Community College. He is former history chair at a classical college preparatory school, newspaper publisher, and radio host. His books include the new novel When the Bluebonnets Come and the non-fiction historical narrative The War Between the States: America's Uncivil War, both from Bluebonnet Press; the historical novels Stonewall and Robert E. Lee from Broadman & Holman Publishers; and the upcoming historical narrative The Oklahomans: The Story of Oklahoma and Its People.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 10, 2011
The best book concerning the War Between the States that I have ever read. In a very synoptic manner it takes the reasons for the war and separates it from the battle cries of "slavery" or "states rights" and examines the how and why this war happened. It also gives in depth look at the war crimes committed against both sides, both during and after the war. A fascinating read that I heartily recommend.
September 25, 2012
While most books on the "Civil War" start in 1861 and end in "65, Mr. Dwyer goes far deeper than just the surface. Starting in the 1830's, he begins by showing the religious, cultural, and economical differences that were becoming very apparent. While the South continued in Reformed theology (Man is inherently sinful, ) and the doctrine of the Trinity, the North was beginning to embrace the Transcendental (God is not concerned with what happens on earth) and Unitarian (the rejection of a Triune God) beliefs that were coming over from Europe, particularly Germany. Culturally, the South was very dependent on the land and took great pride in cultivating community life. The North was becoming industrious with big machines and were known for not being as hospitable as their Southern counterparts. Economically, the South was becoming quite wealthy with their cotton and was becoming a threat to the North (or so they felt). Something was going to break. Laws began to be passed in the North (without the consent of the South) and it was a downward spiral from there. The further you get in the book, the more you realize that what the South was fighting for (Freedom of Religion, Taxation without representation, tyranny, etc) was exactly what we fought for 85 years before in the Revolution. And, just as Great Britton fought to keep the colonies, so the North fought to keep what they considered "rightfully" theirs. Thus, when the Declaration of Independence asserted;
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness....
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security .”
the South took it seriously and believed that, in order for their future generations to be free from tyrannical government, they must needs dissolve the union that their fathers had signed, believing (and rightly so) that they were Constitutionally correct.
He ends the book with what really happened during the “Reconstruction” of the South.
He gives the “politically incorrect” guide to:
when, why, how, and what the KKK started out to be,
who Nathan Bedford Forrest really was,
who the political leaders were and what they believed before, during, and after the war,
the relationships between master and slave and Blacks and Whites,
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” author and what she believed,
the deception behind Andersonville and Elmira Prisons,
the real message behind “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, what she believed and who her husband was,
what happened to the Indians before, during, and after the war,
who John Wilkes Booth really was,
did the Emancipation Proclamation really free the slaves?
what happened to prisoners during and after the war,
what happened at Fort Pillow and Quantrills Raid, and much more.
I believe everyone should read this incredible book. Even though am not one who believes “the South will rise again” I do believe that we are still struggling with the repercussions of what happened after the America’s Uncivil War.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness....
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security .”
the South took it seriously and believed that, in order for their future generations to be free from tyrannical government, they must needs dissolve the union that their fathers had signed, believing (and rightly so) that they were Constitutionally correct.
He ends the book with what really happened during the “Reconstruction” of the South.
He gives the “politically incorrect” guide to:
when, why, how, and what the KKK started out to be,
who Nathan Bedford Forrest really was,
who the political leaders were and what they believed before, during, and after the war,
the relationships between master and slave and Blacks and Whites,
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” author and what she believed,
the deception behind Andersonville and Elmira Prisons,
the real message behind “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, what she believed and who her husband was,
what happened to the Indians before, during, and after the war,
who John Wilkes Booth really was,
did the Emancipation Proclamation really free the slaves?
what happened to prisoners during and after the war,
what happened at Fort Pillow and Quantrills Raid, and much more.
I believe everyone should read this incredible book. Even though am not one who believes “the South will rise again” I do believe that we are still struggling with the repercussions of what happened after the America’s Uncivil War.
February 8, 2014
This is a remarkable book, in that it covers the War Between the States with an overtly Christian perspective--evaluating the build up to war, the conduct of the war, and the consequences of the war. Dwyer is to be commended for his thorough and rigorous study of the people, events, and movements that surrounded the most tragic of wars.
Dwyer's sympathies clearly lie with the South--in their defense of their land, their Christian worldview, their homes, their property, and their right to secession. Yet he is highly critical of those things in Southern culture that were wicked and abhorrent. His judgments are not the judgments of the abolitionists or the Unionists, but are instead theological judgments.
The North had largely apostatized and was heavily influenced by the revolutionary movements in Europe--specifically the Marxist revolutions of 1848. Dwyer shows how the North was influenced by European emigres that had to leave Europe because of their defeat in the failed Marxist revolutions. The Radical Republicans in particular were heavily influenced by the European revolutionaries and worked hard to coercively transform the South from their Christian heritage into the image of the progressive and industrial north.
The book chronicles the many causes of war--including slavery. But slavery was likely not even the primary cause of the war. Instead, the protective tariffs that were ingrained in the Whig and later Republican platforms were shouldered almost entirely by the South and the revenues spent in the North.
The war itself was shrewdly provoked by Lincoln's resupplying Fort Sumter, which swiftly turned the otherwise ambivalent North to hostility and aggression. Lincoln summarily set aside the Constitution to wage the war. As the war progressed, the North used increasingly unbiblical tactics in total war against the Southern population.
One of the most striking things in reading about the Civil War is how the cause seemed cursed. They lost so many key generals at critical points, blundered at the worst of times. Even Lee and Davis made critical blunders that led to the collapse of the Southern cause.
Reconstruction, was of course, a disaster not only for the South, but for the North--in that it led to graft and corruption at a breathtaking level that reverberates today. Seeing the early Republican Party at work is startling in the party--from its inception was thoroughly despicable.
Much could be said of the content of the book, but this is THE book for Christians to read on the Civil War. It is a beautiful volume with wonderful pictures and illustrations. Dwyer recruited some great contributors that add to the scope of the book in very helpful ways.
Dwyer gives historical portraits of important figures of the different eras and these are wonderful in introducing the reader to a variety of people in different walks of life.
The book does suffer from an uneven layout. I found myself flipping back and forth throughout the book in order to follow the narrative and then return to read about a specific person, event, or place. This got a bit tiresome, but is truly a small matter.
This is not a long enough account to be as thorough as Foote's trilogy, of course. But this is the volume to read if you want to interact with the morality of the war. This is not to be missed.
Dwyer's sympathies clearly lie with the South--in their defense of their land, their Christian worldview, their homes, their property, and their right to secession. Yet he is highly critical of those things in Southern culture that were wicked and abhorrent. His judgments are not the judgments of the abolitionists or the Unionists, but are instead theological judgments.
The North had largely apostatized and was heavily influenced by the revolutionary movements in Europe--specifically the Marxist revolutions of 1848. Dwyer shows how the North was influenced by European emigres that had to leave Europe because of their defeat in the failed Marxist revolutions. The Radical Republicans in particular were heavily influenced by the European revolutionaries and worked hard to coercively transform the South from their Christian heritage into the image of the progressive and industrial north.
The book chronicles the many causes of war--including slavery. But slavery was likely not even the primary cause of the war. Instead, the protective tariffs that were ingrained in the Whig and later Republican platforms were shouldered almost entirely by the South and the revenues spent in the North.
The war itself was shrewdly provoked by Lincoln's resupplying Fort Sumter, which swiftly turned the otherwise ambivalent North to hostility and aggression. Lincoln summarily set aside the Constitution to wage the war. As the war progressed, the North used increasingly unbiblical tactics in total war against the Southern population.
One of the most striking things in reading about the Civil War is how the cause seemed cursed. They lost so many key generals at critical points, blundered at the worst of times. Even Lee and Davis made critical blunders that led to the collapse of the Southern cause.
Reconstruction, was of course, a disaster not only for the South, but for the North--in that it led to graft and corruption at a breathtaking level that reverberates today. Seeing the early Republican Party at work is startling in the party--from its inception was thoroughly despicable.
Much could be said of the content of the book, but this is THE book for Christians to read on the Civil War. It is a beautiful volume with wonderful pictures and illustrations. Dwyer recruited some great contributors that add to the scope of the book in very helpful ways.
Dwyer gives historical portraits of important figures of the different eras and these are wonderful in introducing the reader to a variety of people in different walks of life.
The book does suffer from an uneven layout. I found myself flipping back and forth throughout the book in order to follow the narrative and then return to read about a specific person, event, or place. This got a bit tiresome, but is truly a small matter.
This is not a long enough account to be as thorough as Foote's trilogy, of course. But this is the volume to read if you want to interact with the morality of the war. This is not to be missed.
February 11, 2011
This book is worth the price just for the first ten chapters, which give the economic, philosophical and theological background to the war that changed American forever. The more I read the more convinced I am that this war was primary event that shaped 20th century America. The book is filled with facts and information freqently left out of conventional accounts of the War Between the States. For example, many of those who wanted to abolish slavery also wanted to ship the slaves back to Africa. In other words, even those who hated slavery did not necessarily want African Americans hanging around. Another example is that Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, never once visited slaves. All the information in Uncle Tom's Cabin was second or third hand. Another example, when people visited from Europe then found that whites in the North were often more uncomfortable with blacks than whites in the South. The authors do not dispute the excesses involved in some of Southern Slavery, but they assert that is not the entire story.
Hundreds of illustrations, photos, side bars, and paintings make the book visually appealing. My eleven and nine year old read it with ease. It will make you rethink much of what you learned about the war, even if you disagree with some of the conclusions. What is perhaps most valuable is the spiritual and biblical emphasis throughout the book. The authors highlight Christians from both North and South, both black and white. Their discussion of slavery is based on what the Bible says about slavery. For example, they state that the primary biblical problem with Southern slavery was that there was no way for slaves to get out. The Scriptures almost always gave slaves an opportunity for freedom in time.
Hundreds of illustrations, photos, side bars, and paintings make the book visually appealing. My eleven and nine year old read it with ease. It will make you rethink much of what you learned about the war, even if you disagree with some of the conclusions. What is perhaps most valuable is the spiritual and biblical emphasis throughout the book. The authors highlight Christians from both North and South, both black and white. Their discussion of slavery is based on what the Bible says about slavery. For example, they state that the primary biblical problem with Southern slavery was that there was no way for slaves to get out. The Scriptures almost always gave slaves an opportunity for freedom in time.
July 28, 2020
A very good, detailed, unabashedly honest investigation into the causes, and the aftermath, of the War. While the coverage of the war itself is at times lackluster, this is a work of synthesis, and meant to cover an incredible amount of ground in a limited fashion. It is also a textbook designed for homeschoolers, so it won't be as detailed on the military equation of things.
Despite that, an incredible book, one I am keeping for my own kids to read and study from.
This book is unapologetically honest, it does present a view of the causes of the war, and of Reconstruction, that goes against the standard, academic narrative. But before opponents who haven't even read it yet shout out accusations, bear in mind this book doesn't present a rosy view of either side.
Both sides were responsible for the coming of war, both sides had sins to attone for, and during Reconstruction, the Republican Party showcased a level of corruption, and tyrannical authoritarianism that current GOP members are loathe to admit. And Southerners responded with a bitterness that undermines the Lost Cause narrative, even if much of their bitterness was justified.
And through it all, it seems as though Blacks suffered the worst. Used as mere pawns and political tools by the Republicans both before, during, and after the War, and having went from being enslaved to being largely ostracized by both North and South, one can see in the plight of Black Americans an epic that should be considered: a people who struggled their entire existence, and who clawed their way to equality despite the odds.
It's possible, as this book shows, to understand the evils of slavery, admire the Confederacy for their heroes, give adoration to the courage of the men on both sides, adore Lee as well as Grant, and be chagrined at the dreadful tale of revenge, corruption, and bitterness leading to hate that was Reconstruction, all at the same time. The War Between the States was an incredibly complex issue, and who's aftermath we are still dealing with a century and a half later.
Very good book.
Despite that, an incredible book, one I am keeping for my own kids to read and study from.
This book is unapologetically honest, it does present a view of the causes of the war, and of Reconstruction, that goes against the standard, academic narrative. But before opponents who haven't even read it yet shout out accusations, bear in mind this book doesn't present a rosy view of either side.
Both sides were responsible for the coming of war, both sides had sins to attone for, and during Reconstruction, the Republican Party showcased a level of corruption, and tyrannical authoritarianism that current GOP members are loathe to admit. And Southerners responded with a bitterness that undermines the Lost Cause narrative, even if much of their bitterness was justified.
And through it all, it seems as though Blacks suffered the worst. Used as mere pawns and political tools by the Republicans both before, during, and after the War, and having went from being enslaved to being largely ostracized by both North and South, one can see in the plight of Black Americans an epic that should be considered: a people who struggled their entire existence, and who clawed their way to equality despite the odds.
It's possible, as this book shows, to understand the evils of slavery, admire the Confederacy for their heroes, give adoration to the courage of the men on both sides, adore Lee as well as Grant, and be chagrined at the dreadful tale of revenge, corruption, and bitterness leading to hate that was Reconstruction, all at the same time. The War Between the States was an incredibly complex issue, and who's aftermath we are still dealing with a century and a half later.
Very good book.
August 13, 2020
This is the most thoroughly researched and factual textbook about the civil war that I have ever read. With his incredible passion and insight, John J. Dwyer presents a clear and concise narrative about the causes, conduct, far reaching consequences, and individuals of this most complicated war. The author has an amazing ability to engage his readers as he skillfully lays to rest the distortions by Yankee historians and liberal academe, including the politically correct theme that Lincoln saved the Union and abolished slavery being perpetuated by racist Southerners. War histories can be quite boring but with Dwyer’s ability to bring drama to the printed page, it’s hard to put the book down. Making this 700 page, beautifully bound volume even more exciting to read are the incomparable paintings of John Paul Strain, more than 500 illustrations, maps, and charts, and dozens of interesting biographical sketches of a wide range of personalities. This book is a must have for families to keep in their homes to re-educate themselves, as well as their children and grandchildren, about this war that has had such dark ramifications on current day politics.
– Carole Hornsby Haynes, Ph.D.
– Carole Hornsby Haynes, Ph.D.
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July 29, 2020Scholarly research presented in a highly readable format blending topical flow of the unfolding of events mixed skillfully with fascinating historical anecdotes and perspectives. I have a library of 40 to fifty books regarding this tragic time in our history. Having never met John Dwyer, I write this not as his friend but as a lifelong, truth-seeking student of this conflict and the politics surrounding it. Unabashedly and without hyperbole, I say that next to my Bible this book is my most cherished volume on any topic. And, I consider it one of THE most important books written in the last fifty years. I would that every American could be taught from it.
December 25, 2022
History is messy and this is evident throughout this book. This book makes you ask a lot of questions about what you've been taught about the civil war and reconstruction. The south wasn't evil even though we can agree that slavery needed to cease existence. It is eye opening to read how each army went about its affairs and how the land and people were treated. Readers will see that political corruption is not something that only happens in today's day and age.
February 22, 2023
The book has no sources, no bibliography. It is a from a mainly southern perspective, and attemps to justify the beginnings of the KKK. While it does give some interesting information, it tries to humanize the institution of slavery.
September 7, 2024
A very good book. One major criticism is the lack of any footnotes. Major disappointment.
Want to read
June 4, 2013Recommended by David Botkin
March 19, 2014
The best civil war book and if you only want to read one this is the one!
May 8, 2017
Excellent. One complaint, though, is that this book is plagued with Western Conservatory's besetting sin - the lack of a copy editor.
February 15, 2009
wonderful
April 9, 2009
Brilliant
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews