The Road to Disunion

More about the book

One of the great questions of American history is why the Southern states seceded from the Union, leading to the Civil War. Acclaimed historian William W. Freehling offers a new perspective in this final volume of his monumental history. With a powerful narrative and memorable portraits, Freehling skillfully recounts key moments on the path to war, including the violence in Bleeding Kansas, Preston Brooks's assault on Charles Sumner, the Dred Scott Decision, and John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. Initially, most Southerners took a cautious stance after Lincoln's election, waiting to see his actions, particularly regarding the South. However, the extreme fringe in the South quickly gained influence, starting in South Carolina and Mississippi, and began advocating for secession. This book is the first to fully document how this determined minority seized control of the secessionist agenda, propelled by a series of fortuitous events. Freehling provides compelling profiles of key leaders, many from the South Carolina elite, and evokes a world rich with fascinating characters and places. This long-awaited sequel to the award-winning Secessionists at Bay concludes a significant contribution to our understanding of the Civil War, offering a vivid portrait of the final years of the antebellum South.