Synopses & Reviews
The Civil War was a unique watershed, not only in American history but world history. Since the last gun was fired before Appomattox, it has fascinated and mesmerized us, as vivid in our imaginations as it was real in the lives of those who fought it.
There are many compelling reasons to study that epochal event in our past. Not only is it absolutely unique in history, not only a watershed that defined us as a nation, but it was a war of important firsts, a war to save the democratic form of government and the freedoms that we now enjoy. It ended slavery in our country and pioneered new ways of waging war on land and on the water.
It catapulted us into a new industrial and technological world and destroyed and made fortunes. Its politics were fascinating and crucial. It gave birth to a new journalism and an impressive body of literature and tested our faith as nothing ever has.
This book, written by a noted Civil War historian, expands on twenty important reasons why the Civil War should continue to be a central study for us all.
Review
"Here at last is a real topic to those who keep asking why we should learn about the Civil War today. Its twenty simple reasons with examples could well be adapted for classroom use, and to good effect. Indeed, it should be required reading for teachers desperate to find means to make history come alive. John Waugh has written several distinguished works of history, but this modest little guide may be the most important of all" -William C. Davis
Review
"Another good reason for studying the Civil War is its stimulation of books like John Waugh's. His easy style invokes the pathos, courage, the very spirit of the war itself. Readers from professionals to buffs to raw recruits will in joy what's in here." -Frank E. Vandiver
Review
"John Waugh is a great writer. His new book- 20 Good Reasons to Study the Civil War- is a masterpiece." Grady McWhiney
About the Author
JOHN C. WAUGH is a journalist turned historical reporter. After an eighteen-year career as a correspondent and bureau chief of
The Christian Science Monitor, reporting the twentieth century, he began instead reporting the nineteenth, specializing in his lifelong fascination, the Civil War. He has since written eight books about that pivotal passage in American history, among them the award-winning
The Class of 1846, Reelecting Lincoln, Surviving the Confederacy, On the Brink of Civil War, and two titles from McWhiney Foundation Press,
Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians and
Last Stand at Mobile. He has also served on the senior staffs of two national politicians, former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. He lives in Pantego, Texas and can be reached at
[email protected] for interview.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreward by Jim Lehrer
Introduction
1. Because It Was Unique
2. Because It Was a Watershed in American History
3. Because It Was a War of Firsts
4. Because It Saved Republican Government
5. Because It Killed Slavery
6. Because It Originated New Ways of Waging War
7. Because It Revolutionized War on the Water
8. Because It Teaches Us Brotherhood
9. Because It Showcases Undaunting Courage
10. Because It Made Heroes
11. Because It Created a New Industrial America
12. Because It Produced Men of Fabulous Fortunes
13. Because It Was a War of Political Oddities
14. Because It Pioneered a New Journalism
15. Because It Inspired Great Literature
16. Because It Tested Our Faith
17. Because It Is Our Own Direct Tie to the Past
18. Because It Makes Us Remember
19. Because It is Great Drama
20. Because It Speaks to Us Still
How to Study It