Book SummaryThe Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history. Some 620,000 Americans lost their lives during the four-year struggle that began at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.
This book traces the sectional strife that emerged during the early 19th century and grew more pronounced during the 1850s. The book discusses such key issues as slavery, economic and social differences between North and South, and efforts by leaders of both regions to hold political power nation-ally. Major events in the sectional conflict--including the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott decision, and the presidential election of 1860--are fully explained. Each of these helped push the United States down the path to the secession crisis and the Civil War.
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Book Information
Hardcover ISBN: 1-59556-002-5
Paperback ISBN: 1-59556-006-8
64 Pages
25+ color maps, photos, illustrations, chronology, glossary, further reading, internet resources & index
Author Bio
James F. Epperson is a 50-something mathematician with a life-long interest in the Civil War. Raised in western Kentucky, educated at the University of Michigan and Carnegie-Mellon University, he has worked as a university mathematics teacher in Georgia, Alabama, and now Michigan, where he is currently employed as an editor for the American Mathematical Society. He has authored 20 journal articles in mathematics as well as a textbook published by John Wiley & Sons. His historical interests have led to the publication of two magazine articles on Civil War subjects, as well as the creation of two Civil War–related websites. Mr. Epperson lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his wife, two children, and faithful Border collie, Samantha.