The Civil War, Part 1

by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel

From 1861 to 1865 America was caught in the convulsions of war--The Civil War. No historical event, short of the American Revolution itself, has so deeply affected the United States. The central question involved the nature of the union. Was the United States one nation, or were the United States a group of sovereign states that could choose to disassociate? If America was a union then the powerful North could abolish slavery and impose tariffs on the slave-holding, agricultural South. If America was a confederacy, then Southern states could preserve their institutions by withdrawing from the union.

What provoked this bloodletting? Both sides honored the same Constitution, spoke the same language, and worshipped the same God. But neither side could agree whether America was a union or a compact of states.

Genres: History

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Fred Genualdi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Read it" on audio. George C Scott was narrator which was worth the listen right there. This is really a book on the historical lead up to the war. The author uses a lot of quotes from the times. He does not sugar coat the racial attitudes. A good review of the compromises that kept the Union patched together until it all fell apart. Also a bit disillusioning as to what our leaders really believed. Short and worth a look.

[Elli Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

good for a history class

[Bruce Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too much introductory material about events leading up to the war, leaving a relatively small fraction of the audiobook about the war itself.

[Katie Frewin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great as an audiobook

[Joseph Carames · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay not great but another slightly different point of view
this adds to my understanding
the civil war was an awful mess
slavery was the basic cause