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What They Fought for 1861-1865
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What They Fought for 1861-1865 Paperback - 1995

by James M. McPherson

From the author of Battle Cry of Freedom comes an exceptional and highly original Civil War analysis. McPherson draws on the letters and diaries of nearly 1,000 Union and Confederate soldiers, giving voice to the very men who risked their lives in the conflict, in order to find out what motivated each soldier to fight.


About this book

An analysis of the Civil War, drawing on letters and diaries by more than one thousand soldiers, gives voice to the personal reasons behind the war, offering insight into the ideology that shaped both sides.

From the publisher

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom--an impressive scholarly tour de force and a lively, highly accessible account of the sentiments of both Northern and Southern soldiers during the national trauma of the Civil War. In Battle Cry Of Freedom, James M. McPherson presented a fascinating, concise general history of the defining American conflict. With What They Fought For, he focuses his considerable talents on what motivated the individual soldier to fight. In an exceptional and highly original Civil War analysis, McPherson draws on the letters and diaries of nearly one thousand Union and Confederate soldiers, giving voice to the very men who risked their lives in the conflict. His conclusion that most of them felt a keen sense of patriotic and ideological commitment counters the prevailing belief that Civil War soldiers had little or no idea of what they were fighting for. In their letters home and their diaries--neither of which were subject to censorship--these men were able to comment, in writing, on a wide variety of issues connected with their war experience. Their insights show how deeply felt and strongly held their convictions were and reveal far more careful thought on the ideological issues of the war than has previously been thought to be true. Living only eighty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Civil War soldiers felt the legacy and responsibility entrusted to them by the Founding Fathers to preserve fragile democracy--be it through secession or union--as something worth dying for. In What They Fought For, McPherson takes individual voices and places them in the great and terrible choir of a country divided against itself.

From the jacket flap

In "Battle Cry Of Freedom, James M. McPherson presented a fascinating, concise general history of the defining American conflict. With "What They Fought For, he focuses his considerable talents on what motivated the individual soldier to fight. In an exceptional and highly original Civil War analysis, McPherson draws on the letters and diaries of nearly one thousand Union and Confederate soldiers, giving voice to the very men who risked their lives in the conflict. His conclusion that most of them felt a keen sense of patriotic and ideological commitment counters the prevailing belief that Civil War soldiers had little or no idea of what they were lighting for. In their letters home and their diaries -- neither of which were subject to censorship -- these men were able to comment, in writing, on a wide variety of issues connected with their war experience. Their insights show how deeply felt and strongly held their convictions were and reveal far more careful thought on the ideological issues of the war than has previously been thought to be true. Living only eighty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Civil War soldiers felt the legacy and responsibility entrusted to them by the Founding Fathers to to preserve fragile democracy -- be it through secession or union -- as something worth dying for. In "What They Fought For, McPherson takes individual voices and places them in the great and terrible choir of a country divided against itself. The result is both an impressive scholarly tour de force and a lively, highly accessible account of the sentiments of both Northern and Southern soldiers during the national trauma of the Civil War.

Details

  • Title What They Fought for 1861-1865
  • Author James M. McPherson
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: first
  • Pages 112
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Anchor Books, New York
  • Date 1995-03-01
  • ISBN 9780385476348 / 0385476345
  • Weight 0.2 lbs (0.09 kg)
  • Dimensions 8 x 5.32 x 0.26 in (20.32 x 13.51 x 0.66 cm)
  • Reading level 1300
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1851-1899
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
    • Topical: Civil War
  • Library of Congress subjects United States - History - Civil War,, United States - History - Civil War,
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 94038423
  • Dewey Decimal Code 973.7

Media reviews

"[McPherson]  makes a persuasive case for his interpretation."  -- The Washington Post Book  World.

"Mcpherson's emphasis on moral and  ideological factors in war gives his book significance  well beyond its specific subject." --  Publishers Weekly.

Citations

  • Publishers Weekly, 03/13/1995, Page 0

About the author

JAMES M. McPHERSON is best known for his classic work on the American Civil War, The Battle Cry of Freedom, which won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. He is a professor in the Department of History at Princeton University.
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What They Fought For 1861-1865

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