Synopses & Reviews
The “stimulating, richly informed” (The Wall Street Journal) story behind the Compromise of 1850, which preserved the Union on the eve of the Civil War—“original in concept, stylish in execution…provides everything history readers want.…The characters seem as vivid, human, and understandable as those who walk the halls of Congress today” (The Washington Post).The Mexican War introduced vast new territories into the United States, among them California and the present-day Southwest. When gold was discovered in California in the great Gold Rush of 1849, settlers petitioned for admission to the Union. But the U.S. Senate was precariously balanced with fifteen free states and fifteen slave states. Would California be free or slave? So began a paralyzing crisis in American government, sparking the longest debate in Senate history.
Fergus Bordewich brings to life two generations of senators who dominated the great debate. Luminaries such as John Calhoun, Daniel Webster, and Henry Clay were nearing the end of their long careers. Rising stars such as Jefferson Davis, William Seward, and Stephen Douglas would shape the country’s politics as slavery gradually fractured the nation. The Compromise saved the Union from collapse, but it did so at a great cost.
America’s Great Debate takes us back to a time when compromise was imperative, when men swayed one another in Congress with the power of their ideas and their rhetoric, when partisans on each side reached across the aisle to preserve the Union from tragedy.
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Long before the crisis of 1860 there was the crisis of 1850.
Review
"Anyone whose eyes have glazed over at the numbing details of the Compromise of 1850 should read this compelling narrative of that famous event.
Review
and#8220;In this exhaustively researched and brilliantly constructed work, Fergus Bordewich offers a spellbinding account of a nation teetering on disintegration, as its lawmakers, gripped by suspicion, anger, and hatred, ultimately mustered a grudging agreementand#8212;an act of and#8216;collaborative statecraftand#8217;and#8212;to sacrifice parochial interests for national survival. In Bordewichand#8217;s skillful telling, Congress at its inherent worst, in response to the volcanic stresses of that era, for the moment, became Congress at its potential best.and#8221; andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Richard A. Baker, U.S. Senate Historian Emeritus
Review
"[A] vivid, insightful history of the bitter controversy that led to the Compromise of 1850 . . . Political history is often a hard slog, but not in Bordewich's gripping, vigorous acount featuring a large cast of unforgettable characters with fierce beliefs."andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;andlt;Iandgt;Publishers Weeklyandlt;/Iandgt; (starred review)
Review
"A peerless narrative of one of the most momentous--and ambiguous--episodes in American history: the compromise that both saved the Union and, ultimately, destroyed it."
--Adam Goodheart, author of 1861: The Civil War Awakening
Review
"Today's political differences pale in significance when compared with those that confronted Congress in the mid-19th century.
Review
"Original in concept, stylish in execution, andlt;iandgt;America's Great Debateandlt;/iandgt;, by Fergus Bordewich, provides everything history readers want. . . .[the] characters seem as vivid, human and understandable as those who walk the halls of Congress today."andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Donald E. Graham, andlt;iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"A
Review
"A lively, attractive book about a fearsome and almost intractable crisis: the tangle of issues involving expansion and slavery that confronted the political class of the United States in 1850. . . . Bordewich, the author of several books on American history, is a good writerand#8212;he knows when to savor details, and when to move things along."andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Richard Brookhiser, andlt;iandgt;The New York Times Book Reviewandlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Long before the crisis of 1860 there was the crisis of 1850. With page-turning narrative skill, Fergus Bordewich re-imagines this threat to the Union not only in terms of Northerners and Southerners, slavery advocates and freedom champions, but as a rite of passage between the old lions of the Senate and Young Americaand#8212;a transformation that would at least postpone secession and civil war. Few writers have ever brought this neglected moment to life more vividly.and#8221; andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Harold Holzer, author of andlt;iandgt;Lincoln: President-Elect andlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Anyone whose eyes have glazed over at the numbing details of the Compromise of 1850 should read this compelling narrative of that famous event. Focusing on the colorful personalities who fought out the issue of slavery on the floor of the Senate in 1850, Fergus Bordewich shows how they forged a settlement that avoided war but laid the groundwork for the Civil War that came a decade later.and#8221; andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;James M. McPherson, author of andlt;iandgt;Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era andlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;A peerless narrative of one of the most momentousand#8212;and ambiguousand#8212;episodes in American history: the compromise that both saved the Union and, ultimately, destroyed it.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Adam Goodheart, author of andlt;iandgt;1861: The Civil War Awakeningandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Today's political differences pale in significance when compared with those that confronted Congress in the mid-19th century. What was at stake--as Fergus Bordewich reminds us in his stimulating, richly informed andlt;iandgt;America's Great Debateandlt;/iandgt;--was nothing less than the survival of the nation."andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;David S. Reynolds, andlt;iandgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"A perceptive and tremendously witty book about the compromise that held the US together in the decade before the Civil War."andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Randy Dotinga, andlt;iandgt;Christian Science Monitorandlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Synopsis
The "stimulating, richly informed" (The Wall Street Journal) story behind the Compromise of 1850, which preserved the Union on the eve of the Civil War--"original in concept, stylish in execution...provides everything history readers want....The characters seem as vivid, human, and understandable as those who walk the halls of Congress today" (The Washington Post).
The Mexican War introduced vast new territories into the United States, including California and the present-day Southwest. When California settlers petitioned for admission to the Union, Congress was presented with a seemingly intractable dilemma: with the Senate precariously balanced at fifteen free states and fifteen slave states, would California be free or slave? So began an unprecedented crisis in American government and the longest debate in Senate history.
Fergus Bordewich tells the epic story of the Compromise of 1850 with skill and vigor, bringing to life two generations of senators who dominated the great debate. Luminaries such as John Calhoun, Daniel Webster, and Henry Clay were nearing the end of their long careers, while rising stars such as Jefferson Davis, William Seward, and Stephen Douglas would shape the country's politics as slavery gradually fractured the nation.
The Compromise saved the Union from collapse, but it did so at a great cost. America's Great Debate takes us back to a time when political compromise was not only possible, but imperative for the survival of the nation.
Synopsis
The Mexican War introduced vast new territories into the United States, including California and the present-day Southwest. When California settlers petitioned for admission to the Union, Congress was presented with a seemingly intractable dilemma: with the Senate precariously balanced at fifteen free states and fifteen slave states, would California be free or slave? So began an unprecedented crisis in American government and the longest debate in Senate history. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Fergus Bordewich tells the epic story of the Compromise of 1850 with skill and vigor, bringing to life two generations of senators who dominated the great debate. Luminaries such as John Calhoun, Daniel Webster, and Henry Clay were nearing the end of their long careers, while rising stars such as Jefferson Davis, William Seward, and Stephen Douglas would shape the countryand#8217;s politics as slavery gradually fractured the nation. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Compromise saved the Union from collapse, but it did so at a great cost. andlt;Iandgt;Americaand#8217;s Great Debate andlt;/Iandgt;takes us back to a time when political compromise was not only possible, but imperative for the survival of the nation.
About the Author
Fergus M. Bordewich is the author of several books, among them andlt;iandgt;Washington: The Making of the American Capitalandlt;/iandgt;;andlt;iandgt; Bound for Canaanandlt;/iandgt;, a national history of the Underground Railroad; and andlt;iandgt;Americaand#8217;s Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise That Preserved the Unionandlt;/iandgt;, which won the andlt;i andgt;Los Angeles Timesandlt;/iandgt; Book Prize in history. His articles have appeared in many magazines and newspapers. He lives in San Francisco. Visit him at FergusBordewich.com.