Congress at War - bookrastinating.com

Paperback, 480 pages

Published by Knopf.

ISBN:: 978-0-451-49444-3

This brilliantly argued new perspective on the Civil War overturns the popular conception that Abraham Lincoln single-handedly led the Union to victory and gives us a vivid account of the essential role Congress played in winning the war

Building a riveting narrative around four influential members of Congress--Thaddeus Stevens, Pitt Fessenden, Ben Wade, and the pro-slavery Clement Vallandigham--Fergus Bordewich shows us how a newly empowered Republican party shaped one of the most dynamic and consequential periods in American history. From reinventing the nation's financial system to pushing President Lincoln to emancipate the slaves to the planning for Reconstruction, Congress undertook drastic measures to defeat the Confederacy, in the process laying the foundation for a strong central government that came fully into being in the twentieth century. Brimming with drama and outsized characters, Congress at War is also one of the most original books about the Civil War to appear …

This brilliantly argued new perspective on the Civil War overturns the popular conception that Abraham Lincoln single-handedly led the Union to victory and gives us a vivid account of the essential role Congress played in winning the war

Building a riveting narrative around four influential members of Congress--Thaddeus Stevens, Pitt Fessenden, Ben Wade, and the pro-slavery Clement Vallandigham--Fergus Bordewich shows us how a newly empowered Republican party shaped one of the most dynamic and consequential periods in American history. From reinventing the nation's financial system to pushing President Lincoln to emancipate the slaves to the planning for Reconstruction, Congress undertook drastic measures to defeat the Confederacy, in the process laying the foundation for a strong central government that came fully into being in the twentieth century. Brimming with drama and outsized characters, Congress at War is also one of the most original books about the Civil War to appear in years and will change the way we understand the conflict.

1 edition

Tom - Bookrastinating reviewed Congress at War by Fergus M. Bordewich

Civil War as viewed from Capitol hill

5 stars

I recommend it. Much of the pop history written about the Civil War focuses on battles and generals, but the story about how Congress fought the war is just as compelling. Bordewich builds the story into a narrative that weaves seamlessly with the external events driving the country and the war. From the secession crisis to the Impeachment of Johnson it's quite a tale.

You really get to know some of the main characters of the age: Pitt Fessenden, Thaddeus Stevens, Benjamin Franklin Wade, et al. Lincoln gets a lot of the limelight in other texts, but the Congress had to keep the lights on and figure out how to function as well as push the nation forward.

I recommend it. Much of the pop history written about the Civil War focuses on battles and generals, but the story about how Congress fought the war is just as compelling. Bordewich builds the story into a narrative that weaves seamlessly with the external events driving the country and the war. From the secession crisis to the Impeachment of Johnson it's quite a tale.

You really get to know some of the main characters of the age: Pitt Fessenden, Thaddeus Stevens, Benjamin Franklin Wade, et al. Lincoln gets a lot of the limelight in other texts, but the Congress had to keep the lights on and figure out how to function as well as push the nation forward.