Instead of trying to speak for the commissioners, Dew chose to let their words and actions speak for themselves. He detailed the personal history of each commissioner as well as the context of the situation in the various states the commissioners spoke. This gave the words of these commissioners a setting in which they could be understood for what they were instead of just words on paper. Dew drew attention to the rhetoric of slavery and race that the commissioners prominently mentioned multiple times in each address to the secession conventions. This was a sharp contrast to the views long held by some historians and interested others that the war was not about slavery or race, but instead about states’ rights, economic differences, or constitutional arguments. Dew pointed out that when the commissioners brought up these political and economic points, they did so fleetingly while they spoke at length about slavery and race.