Tom - Bookrastinating reviewed Peace That Almost Was by Mark Tooley
History of the transition
4 stars
Did I like it? yes Could it use some work? very much so Good parts first, I love transitional history. The events that happen at the seams always pique my interest. This text takes us primarily to Feb 1861 and the events surrounding a conference held in Washington DC called by Virginia and chaired by former president Tyler which attempted to develop and propose amendments to the US constitution that would prevent the pending civil war. It failed in its primary purpose but had the side effect of keeping VA and some border states from hitting the secession button until after Lincoln's inauguration.
Criticism: The author spent a lot of time zooming in on the men who said prayers at the opening of each day of the conference. It wasn't relevant and could easily have been left out. Also the author dealt too charitably (in language used) with enslavers and …
Did I like it? yes Could it use some work? very much so Good parts first, I love transitional history. The events that happen at the seams always pique my interest. This text takes us primarily to Feb 1861 and the events surrounding a conference held in Washington DC called by Virginia and chaired by former president Tyler which attempted to develop and propose amendments to the US constitution that would prevent the pending civil war. It failed in its primary purpose but had the side effect of keeping VA and some border states from hitting the secession button until after Lincoln's inauguration.
Criticism: The author spent a lot of time zooming in on the men who said prayers at the opening of each day of the conference. It wasn't relevant and could easily have been left out. Also the author dealt too charitably (in language used) with enslavers and gave limited agency or role to the men, women and children enslaved by the southern aristocracy.