A People’s Contest: The Union and the Civil War. By Phillip Shaw Paludan. (New York: Harper and Row, 1988. Pp. 486).
The American Civil War spawned immense battles and epic campaigns that still resonant with history buffs in the twenty-first century. Behind the weapons, generals, and soldiers involved in these clashes, the home fronts of the North and South operated to supply their troops with the materiel necessary to wage war. In addition to the decisions on the battlefield, the ways that the home fronts met the challenges of the Civil War also contributed to the conflict’s eventual outcome. In A People’s Contest, Phillip Shaw Paludan examines the Northern home front and how they coped with the turmoil of fighting a devastating civil war. According to Paludan, the North harnessed their immense economic, social, and political resources effectively to win a grand victory over the Southern secessionists.
Early in the war, many people in all areas of the country doubted the ability of the North to win the war. Critics believed that the region had forfeited old republican ideals and clung to materialistic values at the expense of moral standards. They claimed the North would not have the ability for self-sacrifice and discipline necessary for victory. Instead, the northern people rallied to the cause of protecting the union and worked hard on the battlefield, farm, and in the factory. Huge numbers of soldiers flocked to the colors while farmers and industrial workers toiled to provide the food and equipment needed by the Union. Although war weariness prevailed and dissenters voiced displeasure with Lincoln’s policies, the North persevered until the end of the war.
As for the economy, the northern farms and factories boomed during the war years. Paludan argues that although some economic indices indicated stunted growth, the overall picture was one of increased productivity and profit. Capitalists became wealthy meeting the numerous war contracts, building railroads and providing for the various needs of a nation at war. Very few northern communities suffered from direct fighting so they were left in peace to work without worrying about enemy armies descending upon them to pillage. In contrast to the capitalists, the workers experienced more hardship. Before the war, critics lamented the plight of the worker and many referred to them as being held in wage slavery. Defenders claimed that workers could rise above their station or immigrate to new opportunities out west. They also noted that wages increased during the war. In contrast, worker advocates pointed out that while wages increased so did prices with the result that the overall purchasing ability of workers and their families decreased. In addition, many did not have the opportunity or means to improve their situation or migrate to lands out west. These woes would continue past the war and into the twentieth century.
Politics remained vigorous in the North during the war years. Democrats and Republicans quickly forgot about solidarity early in the war and waged political battles throughout the conflict. In general, both parties supported the war effort but Democrats disagreed with the details of Republican policy. The Republicans adopted a nationalistic approach that provided government funds for schools, transportation, and other forms of infrastructure. Democrats claimed these methods violated old Jeffersonian/Jacksonian standards and threatened the health of the republic with a powerful Federal government. In addition, they also decried the violations of civil liberties by Lincoln and his administration such as the suspension of habeas corpus. Paludan defends the Republicans by deflating the numbers of actual arrests and emphasizing the political debate over the issue. According to him, the very fact that such matters were debated at all show that republican principles still drove the nation despite some temporary suspensions of civil liberties necessary for the war.
Using numerous sources, Paludan has written an informative and valid account of the Northern society at war. At times, the author seems to adopt a Neo-Unionist view of the conflict and praises the North at the expense of historical objectivity. For example, he could have offered more critiques of the North’s Native American policies, the lingering racism, and the plight of industrial workers with the same vigor that he denounced the South’s love of slavery. The Civil War still has the power to arouse both Neo-Confederate and Neo-Unionist sentiments among historians with a resulting distortion of academic objectivity. Overall, Paludan’s book is a worthy addition to Civil War historiography and demonstrates the importance of a society’s home front that operates in the background of massive battles.
Johnny Spence Texas Christian University
A People’s Contest: The Union and Civil War, 1861-1865. By Phillip Shaw Paludan. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1988.
In A People’s Contest: The Union and Civil War, 1861-1865, author Phillip Shaw Paludan provides a sweeping depiction of the impact of the war upon Northern society. Drawing upon Lincoln’s 4 July 1961 words claiming the Civil War was a “People’s contest” Paludan presents the first one-volume attempt, in over seventy-five years, to explore the war for the perspective of the Northern home front. Concomitant with the Civil War, the North was also in the midst of rapid industrialization. As noted by the author, previous historians have viewed the Civil War and Northern industrialization as mutually exclusive subjects. Using the tools of the “new Social and economic history” Paludan attempts to understand the intertwining of these events in the lives of Northerners from numerous vantage points including, economics, party politics, religion, labor, emancipation, and agriculture.
Because the experiences of Northerners varied radically depending upon individual circumstances Paludan does not offer an over arching thesis to classify the general experience of northerners. Nor does his narrative develop chronologically. Rather his discussion develops topically within three loosely defined sections entitled: “Learning War,” “Making War,” and “Finding War’s Meanings.” In the chapters “Communities Go to War” and “The Scars of War” Paludan uses short biographical vignettes to illustrate the impact of the war on individuals. The underlying supposition of this work is that the community is the basic human element in which the war was experienced. It was at the community level that individuals gained experience in and appreciation for representative government. Paludan argues that the party was the primarily liaison with the federal government. Because of the interactive nature of local politics, Northerners maintained an intense devotion and loyalty to the political culture of the nation. As such, the firing on Fort Sumter represented not only a physical threat to the nation, but also a threat to the ideology of self government and the political-constitutional system of the United States. Loyalty to the United States is manifested in the significant number of volunteers who offered to fight the South following Fort Sumter. However, it was the concern for political and economic stability with allowed the Democratic Party to gain inroads by arguing that the emancipation of the slaves was likely to create economic chaos.
Paludan devotes several chapters to a discussion of the rapid economic changes in the North. He effectively demonstrates that no strata of Northern society remained untouched by industrialization. During the war years and largely as a result of the war effort national banking was streamlined, new lands for homesteading were opened, the railroad system was expanded and modernized, and, thanks to the expanding transportation system and modernization, agriculture boomed. Because of the prevailing view that industrial growth contributed to the war effort, those who challenged or impeded growth were labeled as unpatriotic. Moreover, Paludan also demonstrates that industrial changes were not without costs. Under the cover of the war the urban working class suffered from inflation and the gap between the wealthy and the poor continued to widen.
Though Paludan does not discuss the Civil War battles at length, he argues that “the battlefield held their hearts” (287). Northerners followed the battles and generals who came to represent the war to those at home. The author argues that heavy causalities and defeats weakened support for the war. Despite the ebb and flow of support at home, Paludan notes that the morality of northern soldiers never wavered and their support for Lincoln played a major role in his reelection. According the author the battlefield was also an arena which convinced many that blacks could be incorporated into Northern society.
Following the war the Northern home front continued to be impacted by the mental damage experienced by soldiers then known as “irritable heart” and increased opium addiction. Because of the expansiveness of Paludan’s work and its fresh approach to understanding the Civil War on the Northern home front A People’s Contest is essential reading for American historians.
Jacob W. Olmstead
“A Peoples Contest”: The Union and Civil War, 1861-1865.
By
Phillip Shaw Paludan. (Cambridge:
Harper & Row, Publishers, 1988).
Paludan divides his work into three sections. Section I, entitled “Learning War,” explores the ways that northern communities prepared and supported the war effort. The author begins with brief vignettes of five individuals and their perceptions of the impending crisis of war. These individuals serve as representatives of large communities, who in turn supported the national war effort. Paludan proceeds to examine the Northern movement to secure international support for their cause and to create a Union Army. Northern soldiers and their officers struggled to learn the art of war, not on a sterile drilling field, but in the heat of brutal battles. Officers, such as McClellan, learned the practical art of directing battle. Paludan argues that McClellan initially appeared as an answer to Northern prayers. His training and peacetime leadership skills propelled him to leadership. However, his failure to effectively combat Lee’s army led to criticism. Finally, Section I examines the political climate of the North. The author concludes that the war set loose a political dialogue, combined with economic and social change that would propel the Union on a forward-looking political dialogue.
Section II, entitled “Making War,” focuses on wartime issues other than military history. Four chapters are devoted to economic aspects of Northern society during the war. One chapter deals with emancipation and a final chapter addresses partisan politics. Perhaps the most important contribution the author makes to the historiography of his subject is his demonstration that common northerners remained committed and devoted to the political culture (even fractious partisan politics) and the survival of the Union. “The Union” was not simply an abstract concept to American citizens, but an essential element of their lives. As a result, the war awakened a latent nationalism among northerners.
Section III, entitled “Finding War’s Meaning,” addresses the means northerners utilized to meet the challenges of war and to transform their society to meet the needs of the Union, as well as their army. Paludan argues that northerners marshalled emerging industrial might into the effort to defeat the South and preserve the Union. Finally, Paludan ends his narrative as he began, with a brief analysis of what the war meant to five individuals and how they viewed the results of reunification.
Paludan’s quest to utilize “every lens” possible to examine the
social impact of the war and industrialization on northern society results in an
impressive work. Instead of following a narrative, the author elected to
arrange his chapters thematically. In
addition, the absence of maps leaves readers unfamiliar with subject areas at a
loss. The scope of the author’s
work is impressive. His use of
literary sources, personal letters, and his knowledge of the period provides
readers with an overwhelming plethora of information.
The author provides readers with endnotes based on primary and secondary
research. In addition, he delivers a bibliographical essay useful for
readers interested in further research into related fields.