The Civil War and New York City [Paperback]

Ernest A. McKay (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr (Sd) (December 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815625456
• ISBN-13: 978-0815625452
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,738,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NYC was always different, January 30, 2007

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Civil War and New York City (Paperback)

This book offers a comprehensive look at New York City during the four years of the Civil War. The public debates leading up to the war (waged most fiercely in the numerous newspapers published in the city), the election of Lincoln, early recruitment, money matters, the draft riot of 1863, and the Confederate plot to burn down the city in 1864 are all detailed. It's amazing (to me) how anti-war, anti-Lincoln, and even anti-Union so many of the inhabitants of NYC were; the mayor himself (C. Godfrey Gunther, whom McKay admits might have been elected as a fluke) totally opposed the war and strongly favored states' rights. Lincoln was disliked by most New Yorkers from the beginning, but became absolutely hated by many after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, and was a loser to McClellan in the 1864 election in the city by 37,000 votes. Most NYC leaders hoped for a compromise with the South and put money issues and fears of a mass black migration to the city as bigger concerns than preserving the Union. I imagine Lincoln may have been the first president, but certainly not the last, who wished NYC could be dragged out into the Atlantic and sunk. It's clear from McKay's well-written and informative (he quotes heavily from numerous contemporary newspapers, a big plus) account that the years of the Civil War were not the proudest moments in NYC's history.