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The Resource "We have the war upon us" : the onset of the Civil War, November 1860-April 1861, William J. Cooper

"We have the war upon us" : the onset of the Civil War, November 1860-April 1861, William J. Cooper

Creator
Summary
In this carefully researched book William J. Cooper gives us a fresh perspective on the period between Abraham Lincoln<U+2019>s election in November 1860 and the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861, during which all efforts to avoid or impede secession and prevent war failed. Here is the story of the men whose decisions and actions during the crisis of the Union resulted in the outbreak of the Civil War. Sectional compromise had been critical in the history of the country, from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 through to 1860, and was a hallmark of the nation. On several volatile occasions political leaders had crafted solutions to the vexing problems dividing North and South. During the postelection crisis many Americans assumed that once again a political compromise would settle yet another dispute. Instead, in those crucial months leading up to the clash at Fort Sumter, that tradition of compromise broke down and a rapid succession of events led to the great cataclysm in American history, the Civil War. All Americans did not view this crisis from the same perspective. Strutting southern fire-eaters designed to break up the Union. Some Republicans, crowing over their electoral triumph, evinced little concern about the threatened dismemberment of the country. Still others<U+2014>northerners and southerners, antislave and proslave alike<U+2014>strove to find an equitable settlement that would maintain the Union whole. Cooper captures the sense of contingency, showing Americans in these months as not knowing where decisions would lead, how events would unfold. The people who populate these pages could not foresee what war, if it came, would mean, much less predict its outcome. We Have the War Upon Us helps us understand what the major actors said and did: the Republican party, the Democratic party, southern secessionists, southern Unionists; why the pro-compromise forces lost; and why the American tradition of sectional compromise failed. It reveals how the major actors perceived what was happening and the reasons they gave for their actions: Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, Stephen A. Douglas, William Henry Seward, John J. Crittenden, Charles Francis Adams, John Tyler, James Buchanan, and a host of others. William J. Cooper has written a full account of the North and the South, Republicans and Democrats, sectional radicals and sectional conservatives that deepens our insight into what is still one of the most controversial periods in American history
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
368 pages
Note
"This is a Borzoi book."
Contents
  • Prologue : "Is this not a remarkable spectacle?"
  • "The future is . . . shrouded in the very blackness of darkness"
  • "We need a statesman of nerve to meet the terrible crisis"
  • "The prospects for the country are gloomy"
  • "Up with polly, down with wisdom is the order of the day"
  • "You can still this storm"
  • "Fraternity is the element of the union"
  • "The quicksands that environ our ship of state"
  • Epilogue : Both sides marching to fields of blood"
Isbn
9781400042005
Instance
Label
"We have the war upon us" : the onset of the Civil War, November 1860-April 1861
Title
"We have the war upon us"
Title remainder
the onset of the Civil War, November 1860-April 1861
Statement of responsibility
William J. Cooper
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
In this carefully researched book William J. Cooper gives us a fresh perspective on the period between Abraham Lincoln<U+2019>s election in November 1860 and the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861, during which all efforts to avoid or impede secession and prevent war failed. Here is the story of the men whose decisions and actions during the crisis of the Union resulted in the outbreak of the Civil War. Sectional compromise had been critical in the history of the country, from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 through to 1860, and was a hallmark of the nation. On several volatile occasions political leaders had crafted solutions to the vexing problems dividing North and South. During the postelection crisis many Americans assumed that once again a political compromise would settle yet another dispute. Instead, in those crucial months leading up to the clash at Fort Sumter, that tradition of compromise broke down and a rapid succession of events led to the great cataclysm in American history, the Civil War. All Americans did not view this crisis from the same perspective. Strutting southern fire-eaters designed to break up the Union. Some Republicans, crowing over their electoral triumph, evinced little concern about the threatened dismemberment of the country. Still others<U+2014>northerners and southerners, antislave and proslave alike<U+2014>strove to find an equitable settlement that would maintain the Union whole. Cooper captures the sense of contingency, showing Americans in these months as not knowing where decisions would lead, how events would unfold. The people who populate these pages could not foresee what war, if it came, would mean, much less predict its outcome. We Have the War Upon Us helps us understand what the major actors said and did: the Republican party, the Democratic party, southern secessionists, southern Unionists; why the pro-compromise forces lost; and why the American tradition of sectional compromise failed. It reveals how the major actors perceived what was happening and the reasons they gave for their actions: Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, Stephen A. Douglas, William Henry Seward, John J. Crittenden, Charles Francis Adams, John Tyler, James Buchanan, and a host of others. William J. Cooper has written a full account of the North and the South, Republicans and Democrats, sectional radicals and sectional conservatives that deepens our insight into what is still one of the most controversial periods in American history
Writing style
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/bookUI
10144088
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1940-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Cooper, William J.
Dewey number
973.7/11
Index
index present
LC call number
E440.5
LC item number
.C77 2012
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • United States
  • United States
  • Secession
  • Lincoln, Abraham
Target audience
adult
http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/titleRemainder
the onset of the Civil War, November 1860-April 1861
Label
"We have the war upon us" : the onset of the Civil War, November 1860-April 1861, William J. Cooper
Instantiates
Publication
Note
"This is a Borzoi book."
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Prologue : "Is this not a remarkable spectacle?" -- "The future is . . . shrouded in the very blackness of darkness" -- "We need a statesman of nerve to meet the terrible crisis" -- "The prospects for the country are gloomy" -- "Up with polly, down with wisdom is the order of the day" -- "You can still this storm" -- "Fraternity is the element of the union" -- "The quicksands that environ our ship of state" -- Epilogue : Both sides marching to fields of blood"
Dimensions
24 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
368 pages
Isbn
9781400042005
Lccn
2012019675
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
System control number
  • 769425330
  • (OCoLC)769425330
Label
"We have the war upon us" : the onset of the Civil War, November 1860-April 1861, William J. Cooper
Publication
Note
"This is a Borzoi book."
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Prologue : "Is this not a remarkable spectacle?" -- "The future is . . . shrouded in the very blackness of darkness" -- "We need a statesman of nerve to meet the terrible crisis" -- "The prospects for the country are gloomy" -- "Up with polly, down with wisdom is the order of the day" -- "You can still this storm" -- "Fraternity is the element of the union" -- "The quicksands that environ our ship of state" -- Epilogue : Both sides marching to fields of blood"
Dimensions
24 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
368 pages
Isbn
9781400042005
Lccn
2012019675
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
System control number
  • 769425330
  • (OCoLC)769425330

Subject

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