THE GROWTH AND COLLAPSE OF ONE AMERICAN NATION

This second installment of an American history series focuses on the causes of the Civil War.

Fraser’s sequel to The Emergence of One American Nation (2016) explores two views of the United States: one based on traditional racial or ethnic views, the other on ideals of equality of all humans and their attendant, inalienable rights. One of the main factors the author highlights as leading eventually to the Civil War is that the nation’s creators essentially kicked the can down the road: “The founders left behind the twin problems of slavery and federalism, which were often two sides of the same coin, and they continue to bedevil their progeny.” Throughout this well-researched volume, Fraser elaborates on the signposts on the road to war. First was Thomas Jefferson’s westward-looking “Empire of Liberty” approach and the question of whether slavery would be allowed in America’s new lands. Then there was the ascent of Andrew Jackson, champion of racist “ethnonationalism.” Next came the rise of the abolitionists. The deal breaker was the election of Abraham Lincoln, an advocate of restricting slavery, as president in 1860. The ultimate result was the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in 1861. Fraser’s massive work proves Santayana’s theory that those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. The author deftly shows that, even from this nation’s earliest days, there were those who were concerned only with the prosperity of themselves and their families and others who thought it was morally proper to help those who were less fortunate. So what’s happening in the U.S. today isn’t something that’s new and different. These stances recur again and again throughout this engrossing tome (and will likely appear in Fraser’s future volumes as well). The author also paints vibrant portraits of the key players and others, such as Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Stephen Douglas, by using the words of these figures and their biographers. Fraser reveals the philosophical struggles of those in the rooms where crucial decisions were made. He succeeds in putting human faces on what could be dry, drab history.

This monumental history brings to life the political leaders swept up in the slavery battle.