Book Review: Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution by James M. McPherson

Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution

This book is a collection of seven essays on the Civil War. Originally, these essays were lecture notes. They are well-written and thoughtful. The common theme is that the Civil War was a second revolution because it brought revolutionary transformations to the country and was followed by a counter-revolution a couple of decades after Appomattox. Each essay covers a single premise and can be read separately.

Slavery divided the nation in 1787 and severed the country in 1860. Many have said that the Civil War settled the key issue that the Constitutional Convention kicked down the road. Did the Civil War finish the Founders’ work or was it in and of itself revolutionary? Read Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution and decide for yourself.

Ending slavery in the United States was horrendously difficult. It took a four-year war with about 620,000 deaths. The politics were byzantine, and the warfare brutal. Reunification was even more ferocious, and absent Lincoln, the backsliding undid much of the accomplishment.

In the end, I found this to be a sad book.

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