Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction, Chapter 7: “The Northern Homefront.”

Gallman, Matthew J. The North Fights the Civil War. American Ways Series. Chicago: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 1994.

In his book intended for college students, Matthew J. Gallman, a professor of history at the University of Florida, highlights the “continuities” of the North’s antebellum and wartime practices, arguing that the North underwent a series of adjustments, rather than a full-scale transformation, as a result of the Civil War. Gallman utilizes new social and economic history, including emotional and intellectual responses to the war, the war’s impact on the economy, and the effect on racial attitudes and the status of African American’s civil liberties, as well as the traditional political, constitutional, and military history when emphasizing that no drastic change occurred in the North during the war. Gallman also focuses heavily on his assertion that traditional and localized volunteer efforts, rather than centralized federal efforts, seen throughout early patterns of enlistment proves that the Civil War did not bring drastic change, rather, society stayed consistent with a few minor adjustments. Gallman does admit that some areas experienced changes, such as women “cutting their political teeth” by getting involved in political organizations and the growth of federal and executive power during wartime, these were still only adjustments, as Gallman emphasizes that a majority of men still controlled politics and ruled in Washington and that federal and executive powers, after Appomattox, returned to what they had been in 1861, therefore there was no drastic nor long-lasting change. Similarly, Gallman illustrates how African Americans may have gained their freedom, but they still faced racism and oppression, therefore these were only adjustments as a result of the war. Gallman’s book is useful as it attempts to disprove the common belief that the Civil War brought drastic change, while in reality, African Americans still faced oppression, men still dominated the political sphere, and the North did not see any real change in industrialization.

Geary, James W. We Need Men: The Union Draft in the Civil War. Northern Illinois University Press, 1991.

In his book, Geary, a reference librarian at Kent State University and a Vietnam War veteran, details the efforts of the federal government to enlist men into the war, as well as Republicans’ need to modify the draft laws to accommodate to the Democrat minority in Congress. Throughout his work, Geary specifically focuses on the military aspect of the draft and the laws created to raise an army, rather than examining the social history of the draft, including the demographics of soldiers and active resistance to draft efforts. Through focusing on military history, Geary argues that the draft that emerged in the North, came as a result of a changing conditions, new short-term needs, and pressures, not as a result of a long-term mobilization plan by the federal government. Taking a deeper look into the draft, beyond the administrative actions, Geary focuses on the officials’ efforts to strengthen an “inefficient system” rather than making the draft more favorable to the public. Geary also takes the position that the draft was not undemocratic, as working-class individuals were able to pay the three-hundred-dollar fee or find a substitute with private or public assistance, rather than enlist in the Army themselves. This work is useful as Geary illuminates the administrative history of the draft, as well as focuses on the officials’ efforts to support an inefficient system, without bringing into account any outside factors and events surrounding the draft effort in the North.

Neely, Mark E. The Union Divided: Party Conflict in the Civil War North. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002.

In the book The Union Divided: Party Conflict in the Civil War North, historian and former McCabe Greer Professor in the American Civil War Era at Pennsylvania State University tackles the widely held and prominent belief on subject of politics on the Northern Home front during the civil war. Neely dismantles Eric McKitrick’s “two-party thesis” that the two-party system in the Union aided in the Union in it’s victory as the competition between the parties elected highly talented men to public office and gave state political leaders an incentive to cooperate with the federal government due to a desire for party success. Utilizing newspapers, which were highly partisan during the era, Neely argues that McKitrick’s thesis is incorrect, as the two-party system in the North almost cost the Union the war, due to it promoting discontent, provoking wasteful and disruptive partisan quarrels, and ultimately undermining morale in the North. Nelly emphasizes that among the two parties, there was still a functioning patronage system, a refusal by politicians to set aside their part’s interests, a highly partisan press, a lack of concern over freedom of the press, the growth of the extremist wings of both parties, the Radical Republicans and the Peace Democrats, and the Democrats which were “essentially useless.” Neely’s book is useful as it not only dismantles McKitrick’s thesis, but also gives insight into the two-party system in the North throughout the course of the war and how the extreme partisanship did more harm than good.

Hyman, Harold M. A More Perfect Union: The Impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on the Constitution. (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1975).

            Author Harold H. Hyman’s A More Perfect Union: The Impact of the Civil War on the Constitution studies the constitutional history of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Hyman concentrated his research on assumptions made by conservative Democratic response to Republican policies of the period and the attitudes of historians, lawyers, and political scientists that constitutionalism consists of events in courtrooms. Hyman’s work looked at the constitution’s importance throughout the civil war. And is an overview of how it affects the citizens of the United States, while Paludan analyzed the social history of the civil war and Rose, drew historical comparisons to the Civil war. Hyman addressed the need to recapitulate the Reconstructionist vision held by Buchanan, Taney, and Andrew Johnson to advance scholars’ understandings of the era.

Paludan, Phillip Shaw. The Union and the Civil War. Kansas, University Press, 2nd ed. 1996

            Philip Shaw Paludan, a professor of Lincoln Studies at the University of Ilinois. book A People’s Contest: The Union and the Civil War focuses on the social history of the North during the Civil War in addition to the new economic history. Paludan does this by analyzing the Civil War and Industrialization to show how important these two events are important for the survival of the Union. Paludan guides fellow historians to address the problem with the ambiguity of social upheaval understand the commitment of the Northern equality led to the Thirteenth Amendment. Opposite from Hyman pointing out the constitution’s importance during the civil war and Rose’s comparison of the Civil War to a different historical era, Paludan delved into the events occurring outside of the battlefield and American society. Paludan’s work pushed forward synthetic scholarship.

Rose, Anne C. Victorian America, and the Civil War. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992

            Distinguished Professor at Penn State University Emerita of History and Religious Studies Anne C. Rose’s book Victorian America and the Civil War closely examines the connections between the two historical eras. Rose looks at the connections through religion, work, leisure, family, and political ties Victorian culture had in the mid-nineteenth century. While Paludan examined the importance of the constitution during the Civil War, and Paludan’s analysis of American society during the war, Rose ties the Victorian era’s similarities to American culture and the significance they tied to the American people. Rose kept the memory of America’s close tie to the Victorian period and history should keep being written.

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Bensel, Richard Franklin, Yankee Leviathan: The Origins of Central State Authority in America, 1859-1877 (1990)

In his book, Richard Bensel, a professor of American Politics at Cornell University makes the argument that the defeat of the South after the war and the growing power of the North began to create a “Central State Authority” that we see in politics today. Throughout his book, Bensel points out that the economic growth of the North during the war, and at its end, led to a centralized state that gave Radical Republicans the power to make large economic decisions in regard to political reconstruction. However, in the South the “Southern Leviathan,” the term Bensel uses to describe the large movement by the South to contribute to the war effort, created its own central authority that stood against the North’s power until reality proved that the South’s resources stood no chance against the North. This book proves useful as it places in perspective the overarching power of the North’s economy over politics during and after the war.

Cashin, Joan E., The War Was You and Me: Civilians in the American Civil War (2002).

Joan E. Cashin, Associate Professor of American History at Ohio State University, delivers a variety of essays throughout her book which focuses on the perspective of a variety of civilians throughout the North and South. In her essays about the North, she discusses the role of women and free slaves during this time and how they contributed to the Northern war effort during the Civil War. For example, Cashin discusses the positive impacts women had on the war effort and how many made a name for themselves in a variety of industries. However, Cashin also makes the effort to describe the negative impact Northern civilians had on the war effort as it dragged on longer than originally anticipated. Cashin makes the effort to portray an image that breaks down the belief that the North was always going to win as they were in greater supply of sources and morality. This series of essays proves beneficial as it shines a light on the Northern front from a different angle and how many civilians of the North created their own agendas to compensate for the lack of progress the war was making.

Frederickson, George M., The Inner Civil War: Northern Intellectuals and the Crisis of the Union (1965).

Activist, historian, and professor of U.S. History at Stanford University, George M. Frederickson writes in his book about the differing perspectives of northern intellectuals at war’s end. As he describes, there were two major classifications that existed after the North’s victory, conservatives, and reformers. At war’s end, conservatives in the North fought for a more tightly controlled society that would place stricter rules on the nation as it continued to expand. On the other hand, reformers advocated for a more relaxed approach as they believed the Civil War was the war that would bring the end of corrupt and outdated institutions and in turn create a sort of “utopia” within the nation in which people would be able to live their ideals freely. However, as Frederickson points out, the end of the war did not bring about the change either side was looking for and rather created a mixed society in which the North was accepting of new ideals but also experienced many setbacks in creating a just society for all. By including Frederickson’s writing, a differing perspective of the Northern front points out that not everything was perfect in the North but rather messy and in need of reformation.

Giesberg, Judith Ann, Civil War Sisterhood: The U.S. Sanitary Commission and Women’s Politics in Transition. Boston: Northeastern University Press. 2000

Judith Ann Giesberg, a professor and Graduate Program Director of History, argues in her book that female activism did not pause during the war period, but continued as shown through the development of the U.S. Sanitary Commission. She does this by analyzing women in the South and their role in the commission. As referenced in her title, Giesberg looks to the Civil War as a transitional period where women of different class and geographic locations were able to expand the role of female activism onto a national scale. The U.S. Sanitary Commission allowed women to act independently to emphasize their own political interests and create a system of women-led organizations. This system would then create the basis of women-led reform movements after the Civil War. Through this analysis, Giesberg’s book serves to emphasize the political power women made for themselves during the Civil War and how this activism continued afterwards.

Palladino, Grace. Another Civil War: Labor, Capital, and the State in the Anthracite Regions of Pennsylvania, 1840-68. New York: Fordham University Press, 1990.

Grace Palladino, a professor of Urban Studies, argues that resistance to the Union in the anthracite regions of Pennsylvania was not in response to Republican beliefs, but to ongoing class struggles that happened to coincide with the Civil War. Miners’ conflicts began in the 1840s as a result of power struggles between industry owners and workers that then came to a head during the war. Employers used the Civil War and miners’ resistance to the draft to legitimize military intervention and halt unionization efforts. As a case-study, Palladino is able to provide clearer details on how local issues shaped miners’ reactions to the war in Pennsylvania as well as provide insight on labor issues that sprouted as a result of industrialization during this time period. 

Schultz, Jane E. Women at the Front: Hospital Workers in Civil War America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 2004.

Through first-person accounts, pension records, and photographs, Jane E. Schultz tells the stories of women who participated in the Civil War as hospital workers. As a professor of women’s studies she is able to shine a light on black, enslaved, and working-class white women that do not normally get included in discussions surrounding hospital work. Schultz argues that although these women endured the same filthy and stressful working conditions, their race and class continued to shape their war and post-war experience. This is further shown in her analysis of pensions and their role in recognizing women’s hospital work as legitimate labor. Overall, Jane E. Schultz’ book contributes greatly towards expanding women’s role in the Civil War.