![]() ![]() Conversely, the North sought to reaffirm and evolve the principles of the rights and liberties enshrined in the Constitution. Likewise, the South viewed the Civil War as an attempt to secede from tyrannical Northern rulership. James McPherson, George Henry Davis 86 Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton University, won a Pulitzer Prize for penning this outstanding contribution to American Civil War history. The South perceived the American Revolution as a struggle that stemmed from colonists’ yearnings to sever themselves from British tyranny. #Battle cry of freedom mcpherson book cover freeThe freedoms Americans wanted included a transparent and open democracy, a republican model of government, rule by the majority, and free elections. McPherson argues that ironically, both the North and South claimed to care about the same basic freedoms their different, fervent interpretations of these freedoms caused them to conflict. Aside from its historical analysis of the years leading up to the Civil War, Battle Cry for Freedom comprises a social analysis of the public’s sentiments about American principles, especially freedom, in the mid-1800s. The likelihood of war, for many Americans, did not come in a single revelatory moment, but gradually increased through the 1850s and 1860s. Nevertheless, he argues, few American citizens believed that a civil war was actually imminent. McPherson casts the pre-war years as a time of intense ideological division and violence. He seeks to contextualize the Civil War within the political, social, economic, and military developments of the mid-1800s. McPherson refers to this period as the “Civil War era,” contending that the causes of the war cannot be fully represented on a smaller timeframe. Though the Civil War officially lasted for less than five years, Battle Cry of Freedom covers two decades of American history, spanning from the outset of the Mexican-American War to the surrender of the Confederate army at Appomattox. For its depth of analysis, the book earned a Pulitzer Prize. ![]() #Battle cry of freedom mcpherson book cover seriesThe book is the sixth installment in a series called the Oxford History of the United States. McPherson, one of the foremost experts on the Civil War that took place between 18, synthesizes the social, intellectual, and economic factors that catalyzed the violent national schism between the North and South. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era is a 1988 book on American history by professor and historian James M. ![]()
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