Paul D. Escott

Jefferson Davis's Final Campaign: Confederate Nationalism and the Fight to Arm Slaves by Philip D. Dillard

enemies in his own party, such as Senator Benjamin F. Wade of Ohio and Congressman Henry Winter Davis of Maryland. In spite of their differences, Lincoln and Congress worked with the similar goal of preserving the Union. Harris’s intent is to remind readers of the challenges both Lincoln and Congress faced during the war years. While the concept is not new, Harris neatly illustrates the complexities of the relationship between a president and Congress. Harris skillfully cobbles together secondary works and the writings of many congressional leaders to present a concise narrative on the relationship between Lincoln and Congress as they struggled with the salient issues of the day. He begins with the 1860 secession winter, traces congressional and presidential interactions throughout the war, and concludes with Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865. Each chapter focuses on that year’s congressional session, Lincoln’s congressional addresses, and the conflicts and tensions that arose from the war and competing methods used by congressional leaders. With that framework, Harris discusses topics such as slavery, Reconstruction, and the disposition of western lands. Similar to Doris Kearns Goodwin in A Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (New York, 2005), Harris argues that Lincoln continually fended off members of his own cabinet and congressional leaders who believed they were smarter and more qualified to be president. This clash is represented best by congressional leaders’ attempt to force Secretary of State William Henry Seward to resign. Harris also highlights the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. This committee became a thorn in Lincoln’s side, but he did not interfere with it. Congress tried to make the war more political than it was, and Lincoln sometimes successfully held them off. Harris concludes with the debate and passage of the Thirteenth Amendment ending slavery, which are now famous thanks to the movie Lincoln (2012). This short book is a good starting place for those who want a quick understanding of Lincoln and his relationship with Congress.

Many Excellent People: Power and Privilege in North Carolina, 1850-1900

Many Excellent People examines the nature of North Carolinas social system, particularly race and class relations, power, and inequality, during the last half of the nineteenth century. Paul Escott portrays North Carolinas major social groups, focusing on the elite, the ordinary white farmers or workers, and the blacks, and analyzes their attitudes, social structure, and power relationships. Quoting frequently from a remarkable array of letters, journals, diaries, and other primary sources, he shows vividly the impact of the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Populism, and the rise of the New South industrialism on southern society. Working within the new social history and using detailed analyses of five representative counties, wartime violence, Ku Klux Klan membership, stock-law legislation, and textile mill records, Escott reaches telling conclusions on the interplay of race, class, and politics. Despite fundamental political and economic reforms, Escott argues, North Carolinas social system remained as hierarchical and undemocratic in 1900 as it had been in 1850.