When in the Course of Human Events: Arguing the Case for Southern Secession - Hardcover

Adams, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0847697223 ISBN 13: 9780847697229

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999

Synopsis

Using primary documents from both foreign and domestic observers, prominent scholar Charles Adams makes a powerful and convincing case that the Southern states were legitimately exercising their political rights as expressed in the Declaration of Independence when they seceded from the United States. Although conventional histories have taught generations of Americans that this was a war fought for lofty moral principles, Adams' eloquent history transcends simple Southern partisanship to show how the American Civil War was primarily a battle over competing commercial interests, opposing interpretations of constitutional rights, and what English novelist Charles Dickens described as a fiscal quarrel.

About this title

Review

For those wanting additional information on the subject I recommend the following books: "When in the Course of Human Events, the Politically Correct Guide to American History."--David Allen "Tuscaloosa News " A great read is "When in the Course of Human Events: Arguing the Case for Southern Secession" by Charles Adams. This is recent scholarship on an old and painful subject. It dispels many myths which I swallowed "whole cloth" in my school days, and which are deeply embedded in current "facts" about the causes, conduct and outcome of the war.--Al Coombe "Southern Aviator " A very readable and insightful book.--Marshall DeRosa, Florida Atlantic University This is the best written, most accurate account of the causes and meaning of the American Civil War. . . . A fantastic book!--John V. Denson, Auburn University Highly original. . . . Mr. Adams' work, as well as contributing to the subject, makes a lovely example of the way history should be written.--Clyde N. Wilson, University of South Carolina The Civil War violently destroyed the decentralized federal system of the Founders and opened a way for the vast centralized empire of today. To legitimate this revolutionary change, Americans have taught that secession was unconstitutional; that the South seceded to protect slavery; and that the North invaded to emancipate slaves. Charles Adams, a northern historian, argues persuasively that these propositions are false. Adams claims that the war was about what most wars are fought over: control of territory, resources, and revenue. To many this book will be disturbing; to others it will be a breath of fresh air. The first step in healing the fractural historical memory imposed on all Americans by the Civil War is to face the hard truths that Adams brings into focus. Having read this book, I can no longer, with ease, recite the 'Gettysburg Address' or sing the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic.'--Donald Livingston, Emory University

About the Author

Charles Adams, the world's leading scholar on the history of taxation, is the author of the best selling books For Good and Evil, Those Dirty Rotten Taxes, and Fight, Flight, and Fraud.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0847697223
• ISBN 13: 9780847697229
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272