The Cacophony of Politics - (Nation Divided) by J Matthew Gallman (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book charts the trajectory of the Democratic Party as the party of opposition in the North during the Civil War"--

Book Synopsis

The Cacophony of Politics charts the trajectory of the Democratic Party as the party of opposition in the North during the Civil War. A comprehensive overview, this book reveals the myriad complications and contingencies of political life in the Northern states and explains the objectives of the nearly half of eligible Northern voters who cast a ballot against Abraham Lincoln in 1864.

The party's famous slogan "The Union as it was, the Constitution as it is" was meant to have broad appeal and promote solidarity among Northern Democrats by invoking their core ideological commitments to nationalism, law and order, tradition, and strict construction. But, as J. Matthew Gallman shows, the slogan was a poor reflection of the volatile, fluid, messy, and improvisational reality of political life for men and women, across the public and private spheres. Democrats experienced the war as a cascading series of dilemmas, for which their slogan did not always offer guidance or resolution. Offering a definitive account of the Democratic Party in the North, The Cacophony of Politics shows the limits of ideology and the ways the Civil War--and the nature of nineteenth-century political culture--confounded the Democrats' self-image and exacerbated their divisions, especially over the central issue of slavery.

A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era

Review Quotes

J. Matthew Gallman has attempted to offer the most complete portrait in a generation of who the wartime Democrats in the North were and what they believed . . . Gallman's background as one of the best social historians of the Civil War is reflected in the book's strengths . . . [he] ably illustrates how a wide range of white northerners navigated a broad and fluid political landscape during the Civil War.-- "Journal of the Civil War Era"

The Cacophony of Politics is an invigorating dive into the hearts and minds of a wide range of Northern Democrats during the Civil War and brings a compelling new perspective to a familiar topic. By sampling the thoughts and actions of Democratic partisans across the country, J. Matthew Gallman highlights the delicate balancing act required of the formerly dominant party that struggled to define itself as the loyal opposition while contending with treasonous elements within its ranks. A great read!

--Joan Waugh, president of the Society of Civil War Historians, UCLA, author of U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth

A career spent studying American life in the Civil War era has given Dr. Gallman a kaleidoscopic and yet comprehensive perspective on one of the key questions of the nineteenth century: Why did certain northerners oppose Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party as they fought to save the United States and end the institution of slavery? In this important book, Gallman examines the shifting meanings of principle, location, timing, racism, and politics to suggest that what motivated Democrats was not a straightforward political ideology so much as a complicated cacophony of contingencies.

--Heather Cox Richardson, Boston College

Gallman shines when poking holes in well-worn labels and stereotypes. Monikers like "Copperhead," "War Democrat," and "Peace Democrat," he rightly points out, often obscure more than illuminate..... While other scholars see clear categories, Gallman perceives an ever swirling kaleidoscope of opinions and emotions.... Gallman is spot on: political categories often crumble when you scratch the surface.

-- "Civil War Book Review"

Gallman succeeds in his aim of capturing the diversity of the Democratic Party. Readers will benefit from hearing from Democrats from across the North, coming from all walks of life, arguing about politics everywhere from their living room to their draft office to the halls of Congress. To capture the diversity of beliefs in the Democratic Party in one election cycle would be difficult; to have captured it across the course of a contentious and nation-changing war is a remarkable achievement. The scope of the work and the diversity of the sources will make this book especially useful for two audiences: readers and scholars who are new to the field and are looking for an entry point into the literature, and scholars who are well versed in the literature but wish to learn more about a specific actor, region, or event.

-- "H-Net"

J. Matthew Gallman deserves kudos for using a wide variety of personal narratives...including many from women on the home front...to illustrate the vast range of views held by people belonging to the Democratic Party.... Eminently readable....a welcome addition to understanding the actions of the loyal opposition.

-- "CivilWarNews.com"

Matt Gallman's insightful, deeply researched, and soundly analyzed book instantly becomes the standard study of opposition politics during the Civil War. The subject has long cried out for reinterpretation, and Gallman has risen to the occasion by filling a gaping void in the literature. He not only explores the limits of dissent in a divided America, but the boundaries of party loyalty, a subject of relevance and urgency in our own time as well as Lincoln's.

--Harold Holzer, Hunter College

Most Civil War Northern Democrats wanted to defeat secession, by force if necessary. Yet they feared that the Lincoln administration would destroy the republic in order to save it. In this rich and engaging study, Matthew Gallman reveals the motives and internal conflicts of these anti-Lincoln Northerners and explains why understanding them is so important for a full picture of the war.

--Adam I. P. Smith, University of Oxford

The tale that unfolds here differs markedly from James M. McPherson's uplifting and widely read narrative, Battle Cry of Freedom, which celebrates a Republican commitment to Union and racial amelioration, thereby infusing a moral dimension into political give-and-take. For Gallman, the Civil War era's partisan politics were "fundamentally messy, and often inconsistent" Democrats never competed for the moral high ground; their presence illuminated a political culture with more coarse than noble features.

-- "The Civil War Monitor"

About the Author

J. Matthew Gallman is Professor of History at the University of Florida and author of the award-winning Defining Duty in the Civil War: Personal Choice, Popular Culture, and the Union Home Front, among other works.