Major Problems in Civil War & Reconstruction

Major Problems in American History

by Thomas G. Paterson

This best-selling title, designed to be either the primary anthology or textbook for the course, covers the Civil War's entire chronological span with a series of documents and essays.

Genres: History, Civil War, School, American History, American Civil War, Nonfiction, Textbooks

480 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1991

About the author

Thomas Graham Paterson received his Bachelors degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1963, and his Masters and Doctoral degrees from the University of California at Berkeley in 1964 and 1968, respectively. Paterson is known primarily for his contributions to Cold War history with an emphasis on United States-Cuba relations, as well as the study of United States foreign relations in general.
A prolific author, Paterson has written and co-written numerous books and articles, and has also served as an editor for several books and scholarly journals, including Diplomatic History and the Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations (1997), for which he was a contributing editor. He has published several articles and book reviews in newspapers, magazines, and newsletters, as well as scholarly journals such as the Journal of American History, The New England Journal of History, Diplomatic History, the New England Quarterly, and the American Historical Review. He is a member of a multiple of historical and scholarly associations, including the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the New England Historical Association, and the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), the last of which he was president in 1987.
Paterson is the recipient of a number of fellowships and research grants. He has appeared on television and radio programs, and has delivered an impressive number of lectures throughout the United States, as well as Canada, China, Cuba, Venezuela, New Zealand, Great Britain, Colombia, and Russia. He taught both graduate and undergraduate level History courses at the University of Connecticut from 1967 through 1997. Aside from his teaching duties, Paterson was also a member of several different University and History Department committees. Paterson has been Professor Emeritus since his retirement from teaching at UConn in 1997.

Reviews

[Ironically Nostalgic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latest edition of this classic work does just as much to illustrate contemporary trends in historiography as it does the Civil War and Reconstruction period. If you want to see what arguments are driving modern historians in their endless pursuit, look no further than the social and intellectual analyses found after the primary sources in every chapter--particularly Steven Hahn's "A Society Turned Bottomside Up" and Drew Gilpin Faust's "Patriotism, Sacrifice, and Self-Interest". Overall, this textbook provides an exemplary introduction into ongoing discussions regarding the American Civil War. The only caveat I have for this work is that the amount of primary sources means that secondary analysis is all but necessary for the new historian.

[Richard Subber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction is a tantalizing collection of contemporary documents and complementary essays by modern writers.
Perman has assembled “essential, readable, and provocative” commentaries on the catastrophes of the Civil War and Reconstruction in the middle of the 19th century.
No matter how much you know about that time and those events, you’ll learn more from this commendably interesting and surprisingly insightful book.
Take the time to read both editions—the second edition is equally valuable, with almost wholly different selections.
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good

[Kenzie Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely useful in my Civil War class and for bringing a more solid explanation of the difficult issues and legacies that arose from the South so that it still effects us today.

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every historian should own this text. A fantastic collection of primary sources from multiple perspectives, low and upper class, and contemporary essays providing insight and analysis, it makes the American Civil War come alive.

[Jills_Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing collection of essays and articles. Most are primary sources, but each chapter also contains secondary essays that examine some facet or feature of the war or society of the time. I know I will be using this text again. A fantastic compilation!

[Jeremy Raper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for a class - pretty tough sledding. For serious academics only

[Kerry Avis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book

Ok it's I don't know how to get out of this review so I'm just writing words to get t this over with.