The Cacophony of Politics

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, author of To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party

"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, author of Lincoln and the Power of the Press"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, UCLA, president of the Society of Civil War Historians and author of U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth

"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, author of The Stormy Present: Conservatism and the Problem of Slavery in Northern Politics, 1846-1865