The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose
Now, how do you know where to acquire this e-book The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents And The Civil War That Divided Them, By Chris DeRose Don't bother, now you could not visit the e-book shop under the brilliant sun or evening to search guide The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents And The Civil War That Divided Them, By Chris DeRose We right here constantly help you to locate hundreds type of book. One of them is this e-book qualified The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents And The Civil War That Divided Them, By Chris DeRose You may go to the web link web page provided in this set and after that go with downloading. It will certainly not take even more times. Just connect to your web access and you could access the publication The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents And The Civil War That Divided Them, By Chris DeRose online. Naturally, after downloading and install The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents And The Civil War That Divided Them, By Chris DeRose, you may not publish it.
The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose
PDF Ebook The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose
For the first time, readers will experience America’s gravest crisis through the eyes of the five former presidents who lived it. Author and historian Chris DeRose chronicles history’s most epic Presidential Royal Rumble, which culminated in a multi-front effort against Lincoln’s reelection bid, but not before: * John Tyler engaged in shuttle diplomacy between President Buchanan and the new Confederate Government. He chaired the Peace Convention of 1861, the last great hope for a political resolution to the crisis. When it failed, Tyler joined the Virginia Secession Convention, voted to leave the Union, and won election to the Confederate Congress. * Van Buren, who had schemed to deny Lincoln the presidency, supported him in his efforts after Fort Sumter, and thwarted Franklin Pierce's attempt at a meeting of the ex-Presidents to undermine Lincoln. * Millard Fillmore hosted Lincoln and Mary Todd on their way to Washington, initially supported the war effort, offered critical advice to keep Britain at bay, but turned on Lincoln over emancipation. * Franklin Pierce, talked about as a Democratic candidate in 1860 and ’64, was openly hostile to Lincoln and supportive of the South, an outspoken critic of Lincoln especially on civil liberties. After Vicksburg, when Jefferson Davis’s home was raided, a secret correspondence between Pierce and the Confederate President was revealed. * James Buchanan, who had left office as seven states had broken away from the Union, engaged in a frantic attempt to vindicate his administration, in part by tying himself to Lincoln and supporting the war, arguing that his successor had simply followed his policies. How Abraham Lincoln battled against his predecessors to preserve the Union and later to put an end to slavery is a thrilling tale of war waged at the top level of power.
The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose- Amazon Sales Rank: #502427 in Books
- Published on: 2015-10-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.77" h x 1.04" w x 5.59" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 392 pages
Review At the time of Abraham Lincoln's election to president, five former presidents were still alive-an unprecedented and never-again achieved number. Derose provides a fresh look at the politics of the Civil War by focusing on the interactions between the eloquent and passionate Illinoisan and predecessors John Tyler, Franklin Pierce, Martin Van Buren, James Buchanan, and Millard Fillmore. He reveals the former presidents' opposition to Lincoln's presidency and many of his now-historic positions, such as the Emancipation Proclamation, and their constant fight against Lincoln's administration. Derose sets this thorough and fascinating history in a well-developed and rich foundation of the presidencies and politics leading up to Lincoln's two terms, and he concludes by pointing out the way Lincoln changed the presidency as his predecessors had feared: into a 'dynamic' and 'powerful force for principle,' which was for Lincoln the principle of freedom for all men. . . .[T]his book is a well-written, thorough, and engaging look into a unique political situation in American history. (Publishers Weekly)“When Abraham Lincoln became president in 1861, five former presidents were still alive—a fact unique in American history. In this discerning book, Chris DeRose shows that all of them had opposed Lincoln’s election, none supported his determination to resupply Fort Sumter, John Tyler became a Confederate and Franklin Pierce a Copperhead, Martin Van Buren’s and James Buchanan’s support for the Union war effort was lukewarm, and the three men still alive in 1864 (including Millard Fillmore) opposed the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln’s re-election. In effect, Lincoln presided over the preservation of the Union and abolition of slavery without the support of his predecessors in the presidency.” —James M. McPherson, Civil War historian, multi-volume author, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era “No American president ever came to office facing a graver crisis--or a larger group of unpredictable predecessors--than Abraham Lincoln. There have been thousands of books about Lincoln and the Civil War, but this is the first to explore these subjects through the ongoing stories of the ex-presidents who remained active, influential, and occasionally treacherous as the Union sought to save itself. Chris DeRose is to be congratulated for finding an entirely new way to revisit the Civil War.” —Harold Holzer, chairman, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation “The Presidents’ War sheds new light on a forgotten aspect of America’s national tragedy, chronicling a neglected but highly significant array of chief executives.” —David Pietrusza, historian and award-wining author of 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents “As Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the union during his presidency, his predecessors looked on with a skeptical and sometimes critical eye. They, too, had addressed the issues of slavery, sectional stresses, and national unity. Their solutions had not stood the test of time, yet they had little empathy for their successor. In a gripping, lively narrative informed by current scholarship, Chris DeRose tells the story of how former presidents Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Milliard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan judged Lincoln and the war they had failed to prevent.” —Brooks D. Simpson, Professor of History at Arizona State University and award-winning author of Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph over Adversity, 1822–1865 “If you think there is nothing new to say about the American Civil War, Chris DeRose, one of the most imaginative scholars of the period, will surprise you with this fresh look through the eyes, deeds, and words of the six American presidents living at the time shots were fired upon Fort Sumter. Exhaustively researched, elegantly written, DeRose’s book offers discerning insights into the contributions and foibles of presidents you may have thought were familiar, but who in DeRose’s skilled hands you discover you hardly knew. Superb history and a must-have addition to anyone’s Civil War library!” —Scott Farris, author of Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation and Kennedy and Reagan: Why Their Legacies Endure
About the Author
Chris DeRose is the author of the highly acclaimed Congressman Lincoln: The Making of America’s Greatest President and Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill of Rights, and the Election that Saved a Nation. DeRose is an assistant professor of law at Arizona Summit Law School and political strategist who for the past seventeen years has served in nearly every capacity on campaigns up and down the ballot in five different states. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Visit him at chrisderosebooks.com or @chrisderose on Twitter.
Where to Download The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose
Most helpful customer reviews
61 of 65 people found the following review helpful. A Fresh Look At the Men Who Were President and Their Complicated Relationships with Abraham Lincoln. By Garry Boulard Disclosure: I am the author of the Expatriation of Franklin Pierce, which is referenced in this book several times.Chris DeRose has taken on a project that might have proved daunting in less skilled hands: the response of five ex-U.S. presidents to the Civil War, and their complicated relationships with one another as well as the sixth president who was in charge of that war, Abraham Lincoln.This means that DeRose essentially has six separate stories to tell as well as a seventh: the events that led up to the war and the war itself. And somehow he manages this feat well, moving the narrative along in a way that never gets bogged down, providing crisp and clear portraits of Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and, of course, Lincoln.Readers who have become accustomed to the idea that the presidents between Jackson and Lincoln encompass one endless series of boring failures, be warned: DeRose documents that the presidents from this era who were still alive by the time of Lincoln's inaugural were intelligent, strong-willed men with decided points of view, policy goals and political skills. Whether any of them could have handled the complexities of secession and the Civil War as well as Lincoln did is highly debatable, yet it can't be denied that four of the five ex-presidents (Tyler, a Virginian, threw in with the secessionists after exhausting all other options), wanted to see the Union preserved, and three (Van Buren, Fillmore and Pierce) found slavery morally repugnant.To some degree this book reminds me of Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy's highly popular 2013 book, the President's Club, which documents the special relationship enjoyed between current and ex-presidents. Why the perspective and insight of the former presidents in 1861 even mattered was because the country was coming apart and people were afraid, turning to their former leaders for guidance and leadership. And all five of the ex-presidents answered the bell, but in entirely different ways that makes DeRose's book a fascinating read.The Presidents' War is noteworthy for one other reason as well: while most historians through the generations have had a great time tearing to shreds the presidents who immediately preceded Lincoln, DeRose has no axe to grind. He gives us honest, straight-forward presentations of who these men were, what they stood for, and then leaves it up to the reader to decide their merits.
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful. Riveting History Featuring an Unlikely Cast By Rob Peck This is easily the best work of history I have read in some time. "The Presidents' War" tells the story of the five former Presidents of the United States that lived to see America plunged into civil war. Often maligned or ignored, these men were intimately involved in efforts to avert the War at its start. In the years following, some rallied their countrymen and one - John Tyler - became a traitor to the country he once led. What most accounts of the antebellum presidents miss is that these men were actually fascinating, if disappointing in different ways. Rather than an analysis of policies or appointments or a dry recitation of the less interesting facts of their lives, DeRose writes with a storyteller's eye, sharing anecdotes which would interest anyone.The narrative is excellent; the pacing is perfect; the selection of vignettes and command of facts is unmatched. It amply deserves five stars.
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful. Interesting but incomplete By Christopher Barat When Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860, five of his predecessors were still alive and active, a record that still stands. As author DeRose reveals in this unusual look at the antebellum and Civil War eras, this was a decidedly mixed blessing. Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan had all governed in the great Era of Compromise, in which effort after effort was made to hold the Union together in the face of the growing controversies over slavery. Each had to make his own version of a "deal with the devil" to preserve the status quo. The Lincoln years split the ex-Presidents asunder, just as the Civil War split the country as a whole. Tyler joined the Confederate cause wholeheartedly, working to take Virginia out of the Union and serving in the Confederate congress for a time before his death. Pierce became a Copperhead, or Peace Democrat. The much-maligned Buchanan turned most of his attention to various attempts to salvage what remained of his reputation after his one disastrous term, which had ended with a number of states seceding. Even Fillmore, who (at least in DeRose's telling) comes off better than any of his Democratic peers in terms of energy and ambition, broke angrily with Lincoln after the latter announced the Emancipation Proclamation and broadened the war's moral scope. Perhaps symbolically, Van Buren, the oldest of the five and the one whose lifetime stretched back to the difficult Revolutionary War era, seems to have been the most uniformly supportive of Lincoln's policies, though he died before Emancipation became an issue.DeRose does a decent job of weaving the actions and reactions of the ex-Presidents in and out of his narrative. The main problem here is that the wartime narrative, in particular, gets too much attention. The time spent reiterating the well-known results of various battles could have been better spent expanding upon the ex-Presidents' views. The book also ends rather abruptly, at the end of the war, with three of the five exes still alive. I would have liked to have seen an epilogue that discussed how their feelings towards Lincoln and the war effort may have changed (if, in fact, they did) and how they may have felt about the war's impact on their legacies. I could also have done without some of DeRose's clunky grammar and troubles with dates (he has an annoying tendency to record days absent years). Still, I appreciate his efforts here. These may not have been America's best and/or brightest leaders, but it is useful to know what they thought and said about Lincoln and the war that forever sundered their time from the very different future that was to come.
See all 88 customer reviews... The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRoseThe Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose PDF
The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose iBooks
The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose ePub
The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose rtf
The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose AZW
The Presidents' War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them, by Chris DeRose Kindle
