Ruling Race

The book offers a transformative perspective on the slaveholding South, challenging the notion of slaveholders as benevolent aristocrats. It reveals their alignment with Northern entrepreneurs, emphasizing their dedication to free-market capitalism and political democracy for white men. The narrative reframes the Civil War not as an unavoidable clash of civilizations but as a breakdown of a unified system influenced by individuals and specific events. This analysis reshapes our understanding of antebellum America and its socio-political dynamics leading to the Civil War.