Lincoln'S First Crisis: Fort Sumter and the Betrayal of the President

During his oath, Lincoln faced a nation on the brink of disintegration, with seven states seceded and four to eight more in jeopardy. Lincoln's First Crisis, by James L. Johnson, reconstructs the beginning of the Civil War, combining thorough research with a litigator's analysis and a storyteller's ear. He presents a new narrative of this crucial period, culminating in a new theory of how and why the war began and how it might have been averted.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 464 pages
\n Publication date: 21 September 2020
\n Publisher: Stackpole Books
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The United States was in a state of disintegration when Abraham Lincoln took his oath of office as president on March 4, 1861. Seven states had already seceded, and at least four and possibly as many as eight more were in jeopardy, depending on how the new president handled the secession crisis, particularly at the flashpoint of Fort Sumter in South Carolina, the heart of the rebellion. The fate of the republic hung in the balance. Lincoln's First Crisis spans five of the most pivotal months in American history, from December 1860 to April 1861. The seceded states hoped to manipulate Lincoln into firing the first shots at Sumter and sparking a civil war, and they actively worked towards that goal. The Sumter crisis has been a subject of intense debate and thorough research for over 150 years. In this thoughtful and meticulous reassessment, Johnson combines thorough research with the latest historiography, as well as a litigator's methodical analysis and a storyteller's ear, to reconstruct the beginning of the Civil War from the White House to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, from Charleston Harbor to Pensacola. Through perseverance, principle, and personality, Lincoln bested his rivals and established himself as commander in chief. Although his actions to relieve Sumter helped spark the war, he did so on his own political, moral, and military terms that helped lay the foundations for a meaningful Union victory. Johnson pieces together a new narrative of this crucial period, culminating in a new theory of how and why the Civil War began as it did, and how and why, if the new president's orders had been properly carried out by his subordinates, it might have been averted.

\n Weight: 806g\n
Dimension: 163 x 238 x 36 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780811739405\n \n