Daniel Crofts examines Unionists in three pivotal southern states—Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee—and shows why the outbreak of the war enabled the Confederacy to gain the allegiance of these essential, if ambivalent, governments.
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Presents the views of all parties to the sectional conflict and offers a vivid portrait of the interaction between them.
American Historical Review
About the Author
Daniel W. Crofts is professor of history at Trenton State College.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By E. Martin
Format:Paperback
It is a commonplace to speak of how quickly event move in our age, but I doubt events have ever so overwhelmed the nation the way the did between Oct 1859 and April 1861. In the beginning the sectional crisis seemed to have subsided and "Black Republicanism" was a tendency, easily overcome by the democratic party (or "the Democracy" as it was called). At the end, the war had begun and the battle was about to be joined.
Crofts book, focuses on the weeks between the election of Lincoln on Nov 6, 1860 and the proclamation calling up an army to subdue the rebel states on April 16, 1861. Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee initially and decisively defeated the drive towards secession only to be undone by being forced to choose between making war on fellow americans (and fellow southerners) or secession.
Crofts focuses on southern unionists, old Whigs for the most part, who participated in last minute negiations for a peaceful resolution of the crisis as well as William Seward and Stephen A. Douglas who were the chief go betweens. Previously historian like Kenneth Stampp have been dismissive of the efforts of the peace camp but Crofts build a compelling case for the legitimacy and viability of their negotiations and poses some difficult "what if" questions in the epilogue.
Like all good Civil War history, it will displease ideologues on both sides. It does not sanctify Lincoln or his course taken in rearming Fort Sumter and raising the army. While the militant "southern rights" prosecession camp seem like so many demagogic hotheads (at least that is how they appeared to the Southern Unionists).
Also it is a remarkable analysis combining primary historical research and statistical methods and is path breaking in contributing to what Stephen Hahn refers to as a "dissenter" tradition in Southern politics.
Finally this book was inspired by David M. Potter's LINCOLN AND HIS PARTY IN THE SECESSION CRISIS. In the most recent edition Crofts has the introduction to this 1943 classic. Read the both and really get an education!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Simko
Format:Paperback
I give this book the highest rating for several reasons: The author presents the material in a well paced, engaging manner; he conveys the intense passions of the moment, framed as they were by truly revolutionary circumstances.
So much was at stake, and everyone knew it.
Also, he clarifies what can seem to us to be merely a mass of confused, unfocused efforts by the men of the moment in the south. There were three successive stages after Lincoln's election: The initial wave of secession, the mustering of the Unionist forces in Virginia, N. Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas and the final push for secession after Lincoln's call for volunteers.
Note that it was not the firing on the fort that triggered that last wave, but Lincoln's response.
What is also clear from the statements of those same men is that slavery is THE issue, co-equal with preserving the Union. Many of these 'northern' southern politicians were not as evangelical as Jefferson Davis about expanding slavery into the rest of the hemisphere, but were nonetheless determined to keep its place secure in American society.
To read the account of a 'for-real' Virginia Whig-Unionist, read John Minor Botts' 'The Great Rebellion.'
There may be other, top notch social-political works that cover the southern Unionist movement, but 'Reluctant Confederates' is certainly one of the best, partly because of its somewhat narrow focus; Fall 1860 to April 1861.
So much was at stake, and everyone knew it.
Also, he clarifies what can seem to us to be merely a mass of confused, unfocused efforts by the men of the moment in the south. There were three successive stages after Lincoln's election: The initial wave of secession, the mustering of the Unionist forces in Virginia, N. Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas and the final push for secession after Lincoln's call for volunteers.
Note that it was not the firing on the fort that triggered that last wave, but Lincoln's response.
What is also clear from the statements of those same men is that slavery is THE issue, co-equal with preserving the Union. Many of these 'northern' southern politicians were not as evangelical as Jefferson Davis about expanding slavery into the rest of the hemisphere, but were nonetheless determined to keep its place secure in American society.
To read the account of a 'for-real' Virginia Whig-Unionist, read John Minor Botts' 'The Great Rebellion.'
There may be other, top notch social-political works that cover the southern Unionist movement, but 'Reluctant Confederates' is certainly one of the best, partly because of its somewhat narrow focus; Fall 1860 to April 1861.
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 70
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32
books
cite this book:
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- Lincoln and the First Shot by Richard Nelson Current on 6 pages
- Old Gentlemen's Convention: The Washington Peace Conference of 1861 by Robert Gray Gunderson on 5 pages
- Lincoln and His Party in Secession Crisis (Historical Publications) by David M. Potter on 5 pages
- The War for the Union, Vol. 1: The Improvised War, 1861-1862 by Allan Nevins on 5 pages
- Charles Francis Adams (The Works Of Charles Francis Adams) by Charles Adams on 5 pages
See all 70 books this book cites
- Southern Rights: Political Prisoners and the Myth of Confederate Constitutionalism by Mark E. Neely Jr. in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Why the Civil War Came (Gettysburg Civil War Institute Books) by Gabor S. Boritt in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Hard Hand of War by Mark Grimsley on page 209, and Back Matter
- Southern Pamphlets on Secession, November 1860-April 1861 (Civil War America) by Jon L. Wakelyn in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- Virginia's Civil War by Professor Peter Wallenstein on page 84, and page 214
See all 32 books citing this book
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