America's Civil War provides a detailed overview of the cultural and ideological landscape of post-colonial America that set the stage for war, and vividly describes the course of the conflict that took more American lives than any war in history and altered the course of the nation. Emphasis is placed on the fierce cultural and economic rivalry between the industrial North and the agricultural South and the pivotal rift concerning slavery that led to this irrepressible and bloody fight. The lives of common soldiers, the weapons and methods of warfare, the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, and the role of other significant political and military leaders are among the topics discussed as well as the abolitionist movement, the underground railroad, and dramatic figures such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Brown. Challenging review questions encourage meaningful reflection and historical analysis. Maps, tests, answer key, and extensive bibliography are included.

Contents: A Nation Torn by War; A Divided People; The Slave-Holding South; The Expansion of Slavery; Slavery and the Revolution; Whitney Changes the Future of Slavery; The Development of a Cotton Culture; Cotton and Slavery; Slave Ownership and Distribution; Slavery and Its Conditions; The Missouri Compromise; The Early Abolitionist Movement; Abolitionism and Violence; Further Actions Against Slavery; The Proslavery Supporters; Slavery and the Power of Congress; The Idea of Popular Sovereignty; The Compromise of 1850; Personal Liberty Laws; Uncle Tom's Cabin; Test I; A Proposal for the West; The Kansas-Nebraska Act; Violence Across Kansas; The Election of 1865; The Case of Dred Scott; A House Divided; Continuing Kansas Controversy; The Lincoln-Douglas Debates; John Brown's Raid; The Election of 1860; The Spread of Secession; Attack on Fort Sumter; A Call to Arms; The Ledger for War; The Geography of War; The Strategies of War; The Armies Take Shape; The Battle of Bull Run; A New Commander; The Fight for Missouri; Test II; The Trent Incident; Grant's Early Victories; The War at Sea; The Duel of the Ironclads; "On to Richmond"; The Battle of Shiloh; Grant Leads to Victory; War on the Mississippi; The Battle for New Orleans; A City in Union Hands; The Battle of Fair Oaks; The Rise of Robert E. Lee; The Battle of Malvern Hill; "Stonewall" Jackson; General Pope Takes Command; The Battle of Second Bull Run; Lincoln and Slavery; Lee's Forces Invade Maryland; Roads Leading to Antietam; The Battle of Antietam; Test III; The Emacipation Proclamation; The Battle of Fredericksburg; The Battle of Murfreesboro; "Fighting Joe" Hooker; The Battle of Chacellorsville; Hooker Faces Defeat; Life of the Common Soldier; Life in the Camps; The Art of Deadly War; Tactics of Battle; The Weapons of War; Civil War Medicine; Civil War Prisons; Lee Takes the War to the North; The Battle of Gettysburg Begins; Gettysburg: The Second Day; Pickett's Charge; Victory at Vicksburg; Fort Wagner and the 54th Massachusetts; Test IV; Bragg and Rosecrans Prepare to Fight; The Battle of Chickamauga; The Battle of Chattanooga; The Gettysburg Address; Lincoln Chooses Grant to Lead; The Red River Expedition; Grant Engages Lee; Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor; Sherman Marches to Atlanta; Political Problems for Lincoln; Grant Opens Siege; The Election of 1864; Dark Days for the Confederacy; The End of the Petersburg Siege; The Destruction of Richmond; The Surrender at Appomattox; The Assassination of a President; Test V; Answer Key; Bibliography