Civil War by Other Means

July 25, 2022
University of Texas historian Suri (The Impossible Presidency) reveals in this eloquent and persuasive account how the failure to uproot the South’s racist ideology after the Civil War has contributed to America’s present-day dysfunctions. Focusing on the 20 years following Robert E. Lee’s surrender, Suri details how the nation failed to heal its wounds, noting, for instance, that many Southerners revered Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth as a selfless hero who gave his life to protect the South from oppression. It was in this spirit that “Southern whites affirmed their control over their destinies” by resisting the federal government’s attempts to impose a new racial order upon them, Suri contends, documenting an influx of ex-Confederate soldiers and their families into Mexico to try to rebuild “the power of the Confederacy” there, and organized efforts in the Southern states to resist Republican rule and prevent formerly enslaved people from deploying their new constitutional rights. Suri also explains how the contested presidential election of 1876 gave Southern politicians the power to ignore federal civil rights policies and draws a convincing through line from these historic events to the January 6 Capitol riot. Brimming with insight and outrage, this is an illuminating look at the roots of today’s political polarization. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency.