Disunion!: The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859 (Littlefield History of the Civil War Era) [Hardcover]

lzabth R.Varon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807832324 | ISBN-13: 978-0807832325 | Publication Date: October 22, 2008

In the decades before the Civil War, Americans debating the fate of slavery often invoked the specter of disunion to frighten or discredit their opponents. According to Elizabeth Varon, "disunion" was a startling and provocative keyword in Americans' political vocabulary: it connoted the failure of the founders' singular effort to establish a lasting representative government. For many Americans in both the North and the South, disunion was a nightmare, the image of a cataclysm that would reduce them to misery and fratricidal war. For many others, however, threats, accusations, and intimations of disunion were instruments they could wield to achieve their partisan and sectional goals.

In this bracing reinterpretation of the origins of the Civil War, Varon blends political history with intellectual and cultural history to show how Americans, as far back as the earliest days of the republic, agonized and strategized over disunion. She focuses not only on politicians but also on a wide range of reformers, editors, writers, and commentators. Included here are the voices of fugitive slaves, white Southern dissenters, free black activists, abolitionist women, and other outsiders to the halls of power. In a new and expanding nation still learning how to meld disparate and powerful interests, the rhetoric of disunion proved pervasive--and volatile. As the word was marshaled by competing sectional interests in the tumultuous 1840s and 1850s, the politics of compromise grew more remote and an epic collision between the free North and slaveholding South seemed the only way to resolve, once and for all, whether the struggling republic would survive.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Masterful. . . . Varon skillfully blends race, gender and social history to fashion a political chronicle of the period. . . . An excellent and well-designed book."
-Civil War News

"Breathes new life into our understanding of the antebellum era. . . . Varon's work proves that this history, one that marries rhetoric to events, can illuminate dark corners of the antebellum narrative and carry lessons into the present day."
-Journal of American Studies

"A stimulating and extremely fluent study, bringing together a multitude . . . of voices offering their particular perspective on, proscriptions against, or prescriptions for disunion."
-Georgia Historical Quarterly

"Deeply enriches our understanding of the causes of the Civil War. . . . [Varon's] insights on the gendered nature of disunion discourse are especially valuable. . . . Extremely readable."
-Maryland Historical Magazine

"[A] well-reasoned study of the long war of words and ideas predating the open bloodshed of the Civil War."
-The Midwest Book Review

"This is a very interesting book and important in helping to understand the underlying political causes of our American Civil War. . . . This is a valuable addition to your Civil War / Confederate library."
-The Lone Star Book Review

"Expertly tackles a substantial body of historical literature while weaving the growth of disunionist rhetoric through the traditional landmarks on the road to Civil War."
-Southern Historian

"Blends political history with intellectual, cultural, and gender history to examine the ongoing debates over disunion that long preceded the secession crisis of 1860-61. . . . A valuable addition to your Civil War/Confederate library. . . . Excellent."
-Lone Star Book Review

"Impressive in scope, as well as in breadth and depth. . . . A masterful synthesis of the predominant primary and secondary literature on the antebellum period. . . . Accessible in both structure and style, and will be especially valuable for students in an upper division course on antebellum America or the Civil War. . . . Varon excels at weaving together the multiple discourses of disunion."
-Louisiana History

"A broad study. . . . Strong both in illuminating operative gender and racial perspectives and in presenting in some detail the views and methods of presentation and activism of many figures who will be unfamiliar even to most American historians, but who, as this book demonstrates, should not be ignored."
-Reviews in American History

"Highly engaging. . . . Makes good use of recent historical literature to produce a synthetic and balanced account of the politics of disunion in the American republic."
-Civil War Book Review

"From the moment the American union was created in 1789, threats and fears of disunion pervaded the polity. At the root of these fears lay the paradox of a slaveholding nation founded on a charter of freedom. With great clarity, Elizabeth Varon shows how sixty years of disunion rhetoric centered on slavery set the stage for secession and war."
-James M. McPherson, author of Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief

"This exciting book puts North and South, politics and ideas, abolitionists and secessionists into conversation across the entire era between the Constitution and the Civil War--and by doing so explains a crucial part of American history. This is a story of great importance, powerfully told."
-Edward L. Ayers, President, University of Richmond

"A solid contribution to antebellum political history [that] offers a new and interesting viewpoint on sectionalism."
-Journal of Southern History

"In scope, authority, and lucidity, this book . . . deserves to be ranked alongside some of the landmark studies of Civil War causation. . . . As good an account of the worldview of antebellum Americans as one can read."
-H-Net Reviews

"Highly readable political, social, and intellectual history at its best. . . . Highly recommended."
-Choice

"Varon fulfills her goal of distinguishing disunion from secession and exploring the multifaceted meanings of the term. . . . She eminently succeeds in showing how disunion evolved from a 'prophecy' that no one wanted fulfilled to the fire-eaters' 'program.'"
-American Historical Association

"A cogently reasoned intellectual history of a frequently misunderstood historical term. . . . Varon successfully weaves together political debates, contemporary journalism, literary fiction and nonfiction, sermons from pulpits of the nation's leading churches and other sources of popular culture."
-Civil War Times

"[A] very important book. . . . Well-written and carefully documented and will be imminently useful to undergraduate and graduate classrooms alike."
-The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

"Definitive . . . explain[s] the effects Disunion had upon the various political groups and the citizens from our founding fathers and later on. . . . Balanced history at its very best."
-The Midwest Book Review

"Installs [the premise of disunion] by weaving the country's beginnings with the immediate, and profound, philosophical differences that existed between the agrarian, slaveholding South and the industrialized North."
-The Anniston Star

"Expertly tackles a substantial body of historical literature while weaving the growth of disunionist rhetoric through the traditional landmarks on the road to Civil War."
-Southern Historian

"Varon's success in setting her analysis of disunion rhetoric against a comprehensive historiographical backdrop is exceptional. Meticulously researched and beautifully assembled, Disunion will become a standard text for students and scholars interested in this tumultuous chapter in American history."
-North & South

"A compelling argument about the political significance of language. . . Speaks to specialists and remains approachable for undergraduates, scholars in other fields, and general readers."
-Common-Place

"Provides sharp, critical assessments of recent scholarship. . . . A narrative told with liveliness and clarity."
-Indiana Magazine of History

"New works periodically appear that significantly contribute to our understanding of that deep national schism. Elizabeth Varon's Disunion is one of those studies. . . . Utilizing a wide range of source material, Varon has crafted a fascinating study that examines not just leaders but a wide array of voices. She does an excellent job of providing the appropriate context for the issues discussed so that readers have both a good understanding of the issue at hand and this work's place within the historiography."
-North Carolina Historical Review

"An ambitious book that seeks to reimagine the causes of the Civil War. . . . Original and valuable."
-The Journal of American History

"An excellent history that is well balanced and fairly presents all sides. . . . Recommend[ed] . . . to all Civil War readers as an essential foundation to understanding why the war came and many of the decisions of 1860 to 1862."
-James Durney, Independent Book Reviewer

From the Inside Flap

In the decades of the early republic, Americans debating the fate of slavery often invoked the specter of disunion to frighten their opponents. As Elizabeth Varon shows, "disunion" connoted the dissolution of the republic--the failure of the founders' effort to establish a stable and lasting representative government. For many Americans in both the North and the South, disunion was a nightmare, a cataclysm that would plunge the nation into the kind of fear and misery that seemed to pervade the rest of the world. For many others, however, disunion was seen as the main instrument by which they could achieve their partisan and sectional goals. Varon blends political history with intellectual, cultural, and gender history to examine the ongoing debates over disunion that long preceded the secession crisis of 1860-61. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (October 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807832324
• ISBN-13: 978-0807832325
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #864,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sublimely adaptable concept, November 24, 2008

By 

James W. Durney (Tampa Bay area) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Disunion!: The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859 (Littlefield History of the Civil War Era) (Hardcover)

For the definition of a word, we consult the dictionary and find the current acceptable definition of the word. Words can have much more than a definition. Words can have meaning and emotions that change with time and place. Disunion is a word with a definition that has not changed much in 200 years. However, the meaning, the emotions that disunion had are no longer available to us. These were unique to 19th Century Americans in the years leading up to the Civil War. Their reaction to the word disunion was much different and meaningful than ours. This book is a history of the meaning and emotions of one word during that time. The author has recreated the meaning and emotions of those times, giving us a real understanding of this highly charged word.
This book shows how disunion was the code for a "sublimely adaptable concept" that had a wide usage in politics. Disunion was at the same time, a prophecy or a threat, or an accusation and a process. Politicians used all to these tools to force an agenda on their opponents. At the same time, social groups made use of these tools to push forward their causes. From 1789 to 1859, when secession becomes fact, disunion is often spoken or considered by both Northerners and Southerners. The author states she is a firm member of the Emancipation Tradition and declares her sympathies are with the Abolitionists. However, she never lets this keep her from telling all sides of the story. She never allows this to descend into attacks on The South or to keep her from telling the full story. Her even handed treatment results in an excellent history that is well balanced and fairly presents all sides.
This can be a very revealing book to read. Consider the following:
Abolitionists were the biggest users of the word. Garrison wanted disunion and wrote that it was best for the nation.
Disunion petitions were common from people living in the Northern part of the nation.
The South had considered disunion a number of times prior to 1860. Pro-Union Southerners had always defeated this idea. Lincoln's hope that war could be avoided is not such a forlorn hope after reading the history of these conventions.
The history of the word "disunion" is a history of American from 1789 to 1859. The book covers each major political event and many minor ones at the right level of detail. We never get bogged down but we have the information needed to understand the causes and motivations involved. In addition, the reader gets a history of the Abolition Movement and race relations in the North and South. This is quite an amount of information for one book. The author's writing is for academia and can be somewhat difficult. I never found her boring and will state that any "work" involved in reading this book is going to pay dividends later.
I recommend this book to all Civil War readers as an essential foundation to understanding why the war came and many of the decisions of 1860 to 1862. On a personal note; this is my 300th Amazon review. I am very happy to have such an outstanding book in that position!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Preparation for The Sesquicentennial Observance of The Civil War, January 30, 2011

By 

michael mcgreevy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Disunion!: The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859 (Littlefield History of the Civil War Era) (Paperback)

The observance of the sesquicentennial anniversary of The Civil War commences this year, and as patriotic Americans, we will be observing this epoch's milestones for the next four years. You should consider reading this book in preparation for these observances and your own personal participation. You will find that it is a very good exposition of the then-inflammatory word, 'disunion' and the issues surrounding it. Varon makes the case in a fast-paced account that this was the key word which galvanized the antagonists to drive a stake into the heart of the Union.

Although the term carries little emotional content with us now in the 21st century, the author redefines and reinvigorates the term, `disunion.' She points out that for the first 70 years of our existence as a country, it served as a convenient lightning rod to kindle a growing cry for separation and conflict within our land. She aptly demonstrates that all of the major players of the time evoked its essence and its antithesis. In addition to the usual voices of Jefferson, Adams, Buchanan, Lincoln, Davis, Webster, Calhoun, Quincy Adams, Clay, and Seward, we hear from the more obscure, the voices of the people like William Garrison and Robert Rhett. She also identifies the antebellum roles of white women and freed blacks.

Of course there are gross classifications and over simplifications of the complexity of the substance of the issue which divided our country, yet Varon makes it clear that ever since the signing of the Constitution, a troublesome, seething discontent and distrust was brewing between the agrarian south and the manufacturers in the north, between the abolitionists in the north and the slavers in the south, between the federalists of the north and the states-righters in the south. This book covers it all, and places you deep into the tone of the times. Reading her account, you cannot remain impartial. Believe it or not, 150 years later you will take a side, just as our forefathers did.

I recommend that you try to read it before April 2011; then you will be better prepared for the 150 year anniversary of the first volley upon Fort Sumter.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new viewpoint, July 27, 2011

By 

Ronald - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Disunion!: The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859 (Littlefield History of the Civil War Era) (Paperback)

This is a really interesting and enlightening book on the history leading up to the Civil War. I recommend you read this book and then Gallaghers book on the Union. The two together really provide a better understanding of the Union's position on the war. I had always wondered what motivated the North to be so willing to engage in the Civil War. The South's motivations are quite clear, and whether you agree with them or not, they are understandable as reasons. The Unions reasons were never as clear. Given the North's racist views it doesn't make sense that the Union would fight so doggedly for four years to end slavery.The idea of Union was never completely clear to me. This book really provides an understanding of how important that idea was before the Civil War. Really good history helps us understand the past and gives us the ability view the events through the eyes of the participants, against the background of the culture. This book can be highly recommended both as great history and an enjoyable read.
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