- Joined
- Oct 22, 2014
The Civil War and Reconstruction
J. G. Randall and David Donald
D. C. Heath & Company, Boston, 1961
808 pages
Randall and Donald’s Civil War and Reconstruction is the best single volume account I’ve found. Even though it is about 800 pages, nearly every sentence is packed with information. It is also largely free of the biases that infected earlier eras of interpretation as well as today’s prejudices. Although my copy of the book has been a handy reference for the past decade, I had never read it through until the quarantine when I discovered that physical copies are only available for about $950 in the used marketplace. Fortunately, Amazon offers a Kindle for $6.49 and the Internet Archive even has a free version of the 1969 edition.
Although the original version was published in 1937, my copy is a revised edition prepared by David Donald in 1961, as is the Kindle. Donald explains that his revision is “less pro-Southern than was Mr. Randall’s original manuscript.” In part this reflects “the fact that Mr. Randall, as a Northerner, tried very hard to be fair to a section to which he did not belong, while I, as a Mississippian, feel proud of my Southern heritage and aware of its deficiencies. The most striking changes in my edition occur in the section on Reconstruction. . . where I have tried to show Negroes, carpetbaggers, and scalawags in a fuller, and I hope fairer, light. . . I have also continued to adhere to the belief that . . . military history is only one important aspect of the Civil War, deserving no fuller attention than, say, wartime finance or diplomacy.”
Although the volume focuses on the 1850 to 1877 period, it also includes developments from earlier eras to provide important context. While slavery is a frequent topic until the 13th Amendment is ratified, a special chapter on “Slavery” provides a discussion of the applicable laws and practices as well as the evolution of Atlantic trade and Southern attitudes toward manumission. Perhaps the reader can see how the excerpt below would be omitted from most modern texts:
Many of the chapters, such as those treating border state problems, non-military developments, intellectual tendencies, anti-war efforts, religious and educational movements, propaganda methods, literature, cultural changes, home front challenges, women, War Department organization, recruitment, blockade running, inter-belligerent trade, Buchanan’s secession dilemma, and others are strikingly original.
As a result, the bibliography is a gold mine because it includes sources on a wide variety of subjects. If included in the Kindle version, it alone is well worth the price. The chapter that included French adventurism in Mexico is a brief, yet authoritative enough, to save those unfamiliar with the topic considerable reading time. The one on West Virginia secession was an eye opener. The scandalous methods of preventing Maryland’s secession are succinctly explained as are prisoner exchange protocols and controversies. Even an attempt by stock speculators to make a killing in the market by sending a phony Associated Press release to two New York newspapers is mentioned in a newspaper censorship discussion. The release falsely reported that Lincoln was making another 400,000-man draft call, which would likely cause the stock market to drop.
Finally, when additional context is needed the authors use abundant footnotes for elaboration, not merely for citation, but to explain additional points.
In terms of fairness, originality, and reliability, a better book there never was.
J. G. Randall and David Donald
D. C. Heath & Company, Boston, 1961
808 pages
Randall and Donald’s Civil War and Reconstruction is the best single volume account I’ve found. Even though it is about 800 pages, nearly every sentence is packed with information. It is also largely free of the biases that infected earlier eras of interpretation as well as today’s prejudices. Although my copy of the book has been a handy reference for the past decade, I had never read it through until the quarantine when I discovered that physical copies are only available for about $950 in the used marketplace. Fortunately, Amazon offers a Kindle for $6.49 and the Internet Archive even has a free version of the 1969 edition.
Although the original version was published in 1937, my copy is a revised edition prepared by David Donald in 1961, as is the Kindle. Donald explains that his revision is “less pro-Southern than was Mr. Randall’s original manuscript.” In part this reflects “the fact that Mr. Randall, as a Northerner, tried very hard to be fair to a section to which he did not belong, while I, as a Mississippian, feel proud of my Southern heritage and aware of its deficiencies. The most striking changes in my edition occur in the section on Reconstruction. . . where I have tried to show Negroes, carpetbaggers, and scalawags in a fuller, and I hope fairer, light. . . I have also continued to adhere to the belief that . . . military history is only one important aspect of the Civil War, deserving no fuller attention than, say, wartime finance or diplomacy.”
Although the volume focuses on the 1850 to 1877 period, it also includes developments from earlier eras to provide important context. While slavery is a frequent topic until the 13th Amendment is ratified, a special chapter on “Slavery” provides a discussion of the applicable laws and practices as well as the evolution of Atlantic trade and Southern attitudes toward manumission. Perhaps the reader can see how the excerpt below would be omitted from most modern texts:
The prewar South, especially before 1830, was far from unanimous in supporting slavery. . . There were Southerners who deplored the institution, such as Jefferson, Lee, Washington, George Mason, and John Tyler; and even active Southern abolitionist, such as J. G. Birney and Cassius Clay. On the other hand, slavery supporters were numerous in the North. . . The practice of indentured servitude was recognized in the 1818 Illinois constitution and was made effective by statutes passed in 1819. It is probable that out-and-out recognition of slavery would have been included in the 1818 constitution had not Illinois feared that recognition would defeat the admission of the state into the Union.
In Indiana much the same situation existed. [When preparing for admission as a state, Indiana petitioned Congress to suspend] that article of the Northwest Ordinance that forbade slavery [in its borders]. . . This . . . was not approved by the [full] Congress, but it is significant that such a recommendation could be made by a congressional committee in 1806. . . Sectional differences concerning the right and wrong of Negro bondage is not as clear-cut as has been supposed.
Many of the chapters, such as those treating border state problems, non-military developments, intellectual tendencies, anti-war efforts, religious and educational movements, propaganda methods, literature, cultural changes, home front challenges, women, War Department organization, recruitment, blockade running, inter-belligerent trade, Buchanan’s secession dilemma, and others are strikingly original.
As a result, the bibliography is a gold mine because it includes sources on a wide variety of subjects. If included in the Kindle version, it alone is well worth the price. The chapter that included French adventurism in Mexico is a brief, yet authoritative enough, to save those unfamiliar with the topic considerable reading time. The one on West Virginia secession was an eye opener. The scandalous methods of preventing Maryland’s secession are succinctly explained as are prisoner exchange protocols and controversies. Even an attempt by stock speculators to make a killing in the market by sending a phony Associated Press release to two New York newspapers is mentioned in a newspaper censorship discussion. The release falsely reported that Lincoln was making another 400,000-man draft call, which would likely cause the stock market to drop.
Finally, when additional context is needed the authors use abundant footnotes for elaboration, not merely for citation, but to explain additional points.
In terms of fairness, originality, and reliability, a better book there never was.
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