Read For Free We Have The War Upon Us: The Onset Of The Civil War, November 1860-April 1861 Planned By William J. Cooper Jr. Made Available In Paper Copy

detailed examination of the machinations and events that took the country from the election of Abraham Lincoln to the first shot at Fort Sumter.


Although we rightly link the start of the Civil War to Lincoln's election, we forget that a full five months elapsed between the events, as the country's leaders struggled and failed to deal with the crisis of the seceding southern states.
Cooper puts the reader right into this uncertain moment, delving through a trove of letters and speeches to give us the view of the past through the eyes of those who lived it.
Fluidly written with only a few hiccups of repetition when he returns to a topic which he ably left aside earlier, this book easily navigates a tight chronology without missing a step.
The reader rides alongside Lincoln on his journey from Illinois to his inaugural as he works on his speech, softening its tone.
When he set out from Illinois, his address condemned the South as traitors when he delivered the speech on the steps of the Capitol weeks later, his famous call to renew the "bonds of affection" was now in place.


Throughout the book, Cooper lauds the efforts of leaders like William Seward and the nowforgotten Senator John J.
Crittenden in trying to find a compromise that would keep the South in the Union, Here, the author's efforts to approach the time through the eyes of contemporaries run into the sentiments of the modern day.
As I read through the many proposals to appease the slaveholders of the South, every fiber of my being was appalled at the efforts to negotiate about the monstrous evils of the slave system.
Cooper's too much of a professional to indulge in counterfactuals, but you can't help but ponder them as Cooper laments the actions taken.
The reader is faced with the prospect of a nation held together by compromise, one with a thirteenth amendment that didn't abolish slavery, but instead guaranteed it, making it nearly impossible to get rid of.
Without saying as much, Cooper thinks the cost of avoiding the war would be worth it, It's not in the scope of the work, but the untold extended suffering of the enslaved millions isn't truly explored and weighed against the slaughter of the war.
The moral calculus is left to the reader, Frankly, I don't think any attempt at compromise would have pacified the South, which revolted at the prospect of a Republican party that didn't even want to abolish slavery, but rather wished to deny slaveholders the prospect of spreading their system further into the territories.
I, for one, found myself nodding along with Lincoln's frustration at the compromises cobbled together inand, which only postponed reckoning and extended the horror of slavery.
"Stand firm," he wrote in December, urging resistance to compromise, "The tug has to come, amp better now, than anytime hereafter, "

Regardless, this is one of those books that's a pleasure to read, even if you disagree with the thesis.
You never get the sense that Cooper's subtle argument has affected his judicious handling of the facts.
He's a trustworthy and enjoyable guide, even if you take issue with his conclusions, There is not much to say about this book, It is supposed to show the historical importance of politics before and during the Secession Crisis that preceded the Civil War.
It doesnt do its job,

This book isnt long but damn is it hard to read, It is just a bunch of names, quotes, and dates strung together into an incoherent mess, I read this entire book for class and I honestly couldnt tell you a single thing about it.


Dont buy this book and if you are forced togood luck, Thorough treatment of the efforts to prevent the Civil War in the months after Lincoln's election, A corrective to the simplistic fixation on Fort Sumter, We readers are all looking back with perfect hindsight of the cost of the war, screaming as we read "why won't they make the effort to prevent this"

Those who are only familiar with the Lincoln ofwill discover a lesser man in, a party leader with limited insight into southern and border state realities.
Very grateful to Professor Cooper for this book, I really enjoyed this book, It focuses on the period of time dating from Lincoln's election through to the firing on Fort Sumter.
Though it was narrow in it's focus, I felt it conveyed the political issues and frustrations from each side in a very descriptive way.


After Lincoln's election, the south had strong concerns that he would attack slavery, Many people in the south believed that they had the right to own slaves, and his election was akin to an attack on their rights as defined by the Constitution.
They believed in state's rights, and were fearful about the federal government going too far, There were people, who the book described as fireeaters, who only wanted secession from the union, To that end, they did everything they could to dominate talks about whether a state should vote for secession, including intimidation, hurling insults to others that did not agree with them, and being very vocal for their cause.


On the other side, the Republicans had won the Presidency, in only theirnd election that they ran in.
Though Lincoln won onlyof the vote, the other votes were split, leading to his victory, People that had strong beliefs across the party, and many did not want to compromise, For some people, it was because they were abolitionists, For others it was because they did not want slavery extended into new territories, For others, it was political, They just won the election, and they were not going to give into the various demands of southern politicians that were threatening secession.
At the head of all this was Abraham Lincoln as the leader of the party, Whether right or wrong, he was silent from the time of his election to his inauguration about what direction he was going to go as President.


In between, there were people who were trying to find a compromise between the Republicans and Democrats.
There were the Committee of, the Committee of, and the Peace Convention, but none of them succeeded.
The failure was across the political spectrum Republicans stonewalling and not willing to compromise, Democrat politicians not willing to compromise unless they received something from the Republicans, or if a compromise was proposed it would not get past the party hardliners.
There were also people on both sides who wanted to avoid war Seward, Douglas, Crittenden, and Davis, to name just a few.


This was a pretty indepth book that gave a lot of background information about the decisions that were made that led the country up to the Civil War.
Given the partisan division in today's society, the reader will find situation familiar, Overall, I liked this book and think anyone who enjoys Civil War history and/or political science will enjoy this book too.
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