Abraham Lincoln: The Enigmatic President

  Bitterly Divided: The South's Inner Civil War by David Williams Bitterly Divided by David Williams makes sense. If the political establishment in a bunch of states decided to secede, there would obviously be inhabitants who retained a stronger loyalty to the United States of America. After all, they had been proud U.S. citizens for their entire lives. I bet you saw a but coming. The but is that although Williams presents voluminous evidence of insurgence within the CSA, it is not clear that it materially hampered the Confederacy’s war efforts until the final year or so. The catchphrase, ‘rich man’s war, poor man’s fight,’ may have been a truism, but Southern men continued to fight until victory became hopeless or they received news from home that their families were starving. Williams contends that slaveholders masterminded the war, but, for the most part, non-slaveholders fought it. Three-fourths of southern whites owned no slaves, so arithmetic alone proves Williams correct. S...

  The Impending Crisis of the South, How to Meet it by Hinton Rowan Helper Four reasons made this book appealing to me. First, written in 1857 by someone who lived through the era, it offers an authentic perspective. Second, its anti-slavery stance comes from a Southerner. Third, the book sparked a movement called Helperism. Finally, Lincoln appointed Helper as consul to Argentina, suggesting he likely read the book. This is supported by a section of Lincoln's Cooper Union Address that, more eloquently, echoes Helper's commentary. When writing a historical novel, it’s crucial to get inside the heads of the people who actually experienced the period. One technique is to read contemporaneous writings, including books, periodicals, newspapers, and speeches. Helper’s thesis is that slavery harms economic growth, inventiveness, and the middle class. He uses extensive census statistics to solidly prove his case. While the sheer amount of data is convincing, it can feel dull. Fortunat...