by Edward Robert McClelland
New York: Pegasus Books, 2024. Pp. 352.
Illus, otes, Biblio., index. $32.00. ISBN: 1639366377
Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, Joining to Save the Union
McClelland, who has written extensively on American politics and cultural and social history, explores the relationship between these two giants of mid-nineteenth century American politics and how they put aside their differences in order to preserve the Union.
McClelland opens with the 1858 Illinois senate race, in which upstart Lincoln sought to oust incumbent Douglas. He sees the politics of Illinois as a microcosm of those of the nation. The famous debates between the two stresses this, in their differing views on slavery; Lincoln morally opposed and Douglas, although not endorsing it, arguing for "popular sovereignty," that the people of each state should decide to allow it or not. McClelland argues that while Douglas won re-election, his “political prospects were in decline, while Lincoln’s were ascending.” (p. 103).
McClelland then addresses the rematch between the two men in the presidential election of 1860. As he takes us on the campaign trail, we clearly see the bitter rivalry, particularly from Douglas, who went so far as to say that if elected, Lincoln would be head of a party “subversive of the Constitution.” (p. 227).
Of course, Lincoln won the election, largely because the radical pro-slavery faction saw Douglas’s stand on the matter as hostile to slavery, and chose to form a third party.
McClelland then reviews the tumultuous events that followed Lincoln’s election. Douglas openly opposed secession, calling upon the nation to support the new president and trying to find compromises, in order to save the Union. Then came the firing on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1860. Just two days later, on April 14th, Douglas, by then very ill (he would die in June), met with Lincoln, pledged his support for the Union, and urged him to raise more troops and suggesting other measures to help end the rebellion. So in the end, McClelland concludes, “they ended their relationship as allies, bonded, finally, by their shared belief in the Union” (p. 298), despite which “history remembers Lincoln and Douglas as antagonists.” (p. 308).
This reviewer recommends Chorus of the Union to anyone interest in learning more about how two bitter rivals came together to save the Union, a tale which perhaps has lessons for contemporary Americans.
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Our Reviewer: David Marshall has been a high school American history teacher in the Miami-Dade School district for more than three decades. A life-long Civil War enthusiast, David is president of the Miami Civil War Round Table Book Club. In addition to numerous reviews in Civil War News and other publications, he has given presentations to Civil War Round Tables on Joshua Chamberlain, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the common soldier. His previous reviews here include, A Fine Opportunity Lost, The Iron Dice of Battle: Albert Sidney Johnston and the Civil War in the West, The Limits of the Lost Cause on Civil War Memory, War in the Western Theater, J.E.B. Stuart: The Soldier and The Man, The Inland Campaign for Vicksburg, All for the Union: The Saga of One Northern Family, Voices from Gettysburg, The Blood Tinted Waters of the Shenandoah: The 1864 Valley Campaign’s Battle of Cool Creek, June 17-18, 1864, Union General Daniel Butterfield, We Shall Conquer or Die, Dranesville, The Civil War in the Age of Nationalism, “Over a Wide, Hot . . . Crimson Plain", The Atlanta Campaign, Volume 1, Dalton to Cassville, Thunder in the Harbor, All Roads Led to Gettysburg, The Traitor's Homecoming, A Tempest of Iron and Lead, The Cassville Affairs, and Holding Charleston by the Bridle.
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Note: Chrous of the Union is also available in e-editions.
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