Legacy of Disunion
Subtitle: The Enduring Significance of the American Civil War
By: edited by Susan-Mary Grant and Peter J. Parish.
Contributors: Grant, Susan-Mary.; Parish, Peter J.
Series: Conflicting worlds
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press; Louisiana State Univ Pr
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Baton Rouge
Language: eng
Number of pages: 267
Subjects: United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Influence.
Description: "The conviction that the American Civil War left a massive legacy to the country has generally been much clearer than the definition of what that legacy is. Did the war, as Ulysses S. Grant believed, bequeath power, intelligence, and sectional harmony to America, or did it, as many have argued since, sow racial and regional bitterness that has blighted the nation since 1865? What, exactly, was the legacy of disunion?".

"This collection explores that question from a variety of angles, showcasing the work of twelve scholars from the United States and the United Kingdom. The essays ponder the role of history, myth, and media in sustaining the memory of the war and its racial implications in the South; Abraham Lincoln's legacy; and the war's consequences in less studied areas, such as civil-military relations, constitutional and legal history, and America's ascent on the international stage.

By juxtaposing American and non-American interpretations, this stimulating volume sheds light on aspects of the war's legacy that from a purely American viewpoint are sometimes too close for comfort. Perhaps the greatest legacy of the Civil War is its ongoing debate and continuing fascination worldwide."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [223]-254) and index.
Table of contents: title: "Forget, hell!" : the Civil War in southern memory / Charles Joyner; title: Confederate identity and the southern myth since the Civil War / Bruce Collins; title: Unfinished business : African Americans and the Civil War centennial / Robert Cook; title: The Civil War in the movies / Melvyn Stokes; title: A contested legacy: the Civil War and party politics in the North / Adam I.P. Smith and Peter J. Parish; title: Abraham Lincoln and the character of liberal statesmanship / Jeffrey Leigh Sedgwick; title: Abraham Lincoln and American nationhood / Peter J. Parish; title: "For a vast future also" : Lincoln and the millennium / James M. McPherson; title: Civil-military relations and the legacy of the Civil War / Brian Holden Reid; title: The enduring significance of the Civil War constitutional amendments / Patricia Lucie; title: "The charter of its birthright" : the Civil War and American nationalism / Susan-Mary Grant; title: From Civil War to world power : perceptions and realities, 1865-1914 / Richard N. Current.