Representative Americans: The Civil War Generation / Edition 1

by Norman K. Risjord

Overview

Americans in the middle decades of the nineteenth century were a people with boundless energy capable of heroic deeds, monumental achievements, and tragic errors. In The Civil War Generation, his newest volume in The Representative Americans series, noted scholar Norman K. Risjord uses biographical sketches to create a composite portrait of the United States during and immediately after the Civil War. Risjord begins his study with Stephen A. Douglas and Frederick Douglass, who provide two different viewpoints on the events leading to the conflict, while Harriet Tubman represents a form of social activism during the same years. Profiles of Stonewall Jackson and William Tecumseh Sherman, as well as infantryman James Anderson, give the reader an insightful view of the men fighting the war. Risjord then leads the reader inside both the Northern and Southern governments as well as the Reconstruction Era through the eyes of people such as William H. Seward and Thaddeus Stevens. Looking at the postwar period, Risjord examines the social and economic changes the conflict wrought, describing the lives of Clara Barton and Cornelius Vanderbilt. As the nation's eyes turned westward, the tragic tale of Crazy Horse unfolds, as well as the chronicle of two of the first scientists to explore the new land. Masterfully written and eminently readable, The Civil War Generation brings to life one of our nation's most turbulent decades and will be of great value to students of the Civil War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742521698
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/23/2002
Series:	Representative Americans
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Norman K. Risjord is emeritus professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he taught for over three decades. He is the author of Jefferson's America, 1760-1815 and general editor of the American Profiles series.

Table of Contents

Part 1 The Coming of War Chapter 2 Stephen A. Douglas: The Struggle to Prevent a (Needless?) War Chapter 3 Frederick Douglass: The Case for a Just War Chapter 4 Harriet Tubman: Moses to Her People Part 5 The Warriors Chapter 6 Stonewall Jackson: Christian Soldier Chapter 7 James Anderson: Infantryman in Blue Chapter 8 William Tecumseh Sherman: "War Is Hell" Part 9 Wartime Politics Chapter 10 William H. Seward: The Politician as Statesman Chapter 11 Judah P. Benjamin: Inside the Confederacy Chapter 12 Thaddeus Stevens: Avening Idealist Chapter 13 Robert Smalls: From Slavery to Congress Part 14 On the Perimeter of War Chapter 15 Clara Barton: The Medical War Chapter 16 Cornelius Vanderbilt: Capitalists at War Chapter 17 Crazy Horse: A Way of Life Gone Forever Chapter 18 John Wesley Powell and Clarence King: Charting the Virgin West

Editorial Reviews

Professor Risjord not only gives us fascinating stories beautifully written, he also brings to his telling of these stories new research and fresh, insightful perspectives. His book is not only literature of a high order, it is superb history. It works for the lay reader, and it works for the professional historian.

Joel Williamson