And the War Came: The North and the Secession Crisis, 1860-1861 (Louisiana Paperbacks, L53)

"One of the most scholarly and provocative books written in this much worked-over period."-Avery O. Craven, Saturday Review "A documented, scholarly investigation of the growth of war fever in the North prior to the Civil War. The author discusses the disunionists both Northern and Southern, the party men who played politics, the businessmen who foresaw the loss of Southern markets, and those men who sincerely believed the Union must be preserved."-Booklist "It is well organized and well written, but most of all it presents an accurate picture of the welter of northern sentiments from which emerged the will to war in 1861."-Journal of Southern History "The author displays unusually keen analytical abilities. He writes with clarity and verve."-Bell I. Wiley, Mississippi Valley Historical Review

Much can be learned about the general nature of the American sectional conflict from a study of the northern reaction to southern secession during the five months between the election of Lincoln and the attack upon Fort Sumter. During this brief and dramatic period all the sharp issues which had divided the sections for a generation were telescoped and intensified in such a way as to bring on a tragic climax. In the end, the overwhelming majority of Northerners accepted this crisis as the final test of power between them and their southern rivals.