Battle Cry of Freedom (book)
File:Battle Cry of Freedom (book) cover.jpg First edition cover | |
Author | James M. McPherson |
---|---|
Series | Oxford History of the United States |
Subject | U.S. history |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Publication date | February 25, 1988 |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 904 |
ISBN | 978-0195038637 |
Preceded by | What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848 |
Followed by | The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865–1896 (2017) by Richard White |
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era is a Pulitzer Prize-winning work on the American Civil War, published in 1988, by James M. McPherson. It is the sixth volume of the Oxford History of the United States series. An abridged, illustrated version of the book was published in 2003.
Content
Battle Cry of Freedom covers two decades, the period from the outbreak of the Mexican–American War to the Civil War's ending at Appomattox. Thus, it examined the Civil War era, not just the war, as it combined the social, military and political events of the period within a single narrative framework. Historian Hugh Brogan, reviewing the book, commends McPherson for initially describing "the republic at midcentury" as "a divided society, certainly, and a violent one, but not one in which so appalling a phenomenon as civil war is likely. So it must have seemed to most Americans at the time. Slowly, slowly the remote possibility became horrible actuality; and Mr. McPherson sees to it that it steals up on his readers in the same way."[1]
A central concern of this work is the multiple interpretations of freedom. In an interview, McPherson claimed: "Both sides in the Civil War professed to be fighting for the same 'freedoms' established by the American Revolution and the Constitution their forefathers fought for in the Revolution—individual freedom, democracy, a republican form of government, majority rule, free elections, etc. For Southerners, the Revolution was a war of secession from the tyranny of the British Empire, just as their war was a war of secession from Yankee tyranny. For Northerners, their fight was to sustain the government established by the Constitution with its guaranties of rights and liberties."[2]
Reception
The book was an immediate commercial and critical success, an unexpected achievement for a 900-page narrative. It spent 16 weeks on The New York Times hardcover bestseller list with an additional 12 weeks on the paperback list.[2] Writing for The New York Times, Brogan described it as "...the best one-volume treatment of its subject I have ever come across. It may actually be the best ever published."[1]
Editions
- McPherson, James M. (2003) [1988]. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-503863-7.
Quote
McPherson described the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, which ended the American Civil War:
Lee asked another favor. In the Confederate army, he explained, enlisted men in the cavalry and artillery owned their own horses; could they keep them? Yes, said Grant; privates as well as officers who claimed to own horses could them take home "to put in a crop to carry themselves and their families through the next winter." "This will have the best possible effect upon the men," said Lee, and "will do much toward conciliating our people." After signing the papers, Grant introduced Lee to his staff. As he shook hands with Grant's military secretary Ely Parker, a Seneca Indian, Lee stared a moment at Parker's dark features and said, "I am glad to see one real American here." Parker responded, "We are all Americans."
— James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, New York: Ballantine Books, 1989, p. 849, ch. 28, "We Are All Americans."
See also
- For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War
- The Civil War: A Narrative
- Bibliography of Ulysses S. Grant
- Bibliography of the American Civil War
References
- ^ a b Hugh Brogan (December 6, 1998). "The Bloodiest of Wars: Review of Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson". New York Times.
- ^ a b "25 Years of Battle Cry of Freedom: An Interview with James M. McPherson". The Daily Beast.
External links
Quotations related to James M. McPherson at Wikiquote
- Discussion with McPherson on Battle Cry of Freedom, July 10, 2000, C-SPAN
- Presentation by McPherson on the illustrated version of Battle Cry of Freedom, November 3, 2003, C-SPAN
- Articles with missing files
- Use mdy dates from March 2016
- Use American English from March 2016
- All Justapedia articles written in American English
- 1988 non-fiction books
- 20th-century history books
- Pulitzer Prize for History-winning works
- History books about the American Civil War
- Oxford University Press books
- All stub articles
- American Civil War stubs
- United States military history book stubs