The Shattering of the Union: America in the 1850s (The American Crisis:Books on the Civil War Era, 14)
ISBN:9780842027991 read summary

My choice for an academic, critical book review is The Shattering of the Union: America in the 1850's, written by Eric H. Walther, Wilmington, DE, Scholarly Resources Inc., 2004. I chose this book for two reasons: first, it will be a valued source book for my final research paper in this course, the changing view of John Brown, secondly, Walther does an excellent job in condensing a wealth of knowledge from the final days of the Antebellum into a readable text that is both factual and an enjoyable. I will briefly discuss Walther's thesis, the major themes of the text and attempt to assess the books strengths and weaknesses in this review.
The main thesis of the text, simply put, is to examine the relationships between the elite and the common people of America in the 1850's. This is based on Walther's statement "Do the ordinary people who do such things exert as much influence on political institutions or upon history as presidents or monarchs? Perhaps not. But would Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., or Nelson Mandela have had political power without their respective multitudes of followers whose names seldom appear in history books? It is my aim in this volume to write an inclusive and realistic political history of the decade preceding secession and war. I do not intend to gratuitously elevate or to ignore one kind of political actor or another and in fact strive to show that the elites and the ordinary folk usually had a keen understanding of the interplay between them." (Walther, xiv) Walther portrays this thought throughout the text and does so in new and innovative ways.
In 1976 a book was published by David M. Potter entitled, The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861. For many years, Potters book was renowned as the most comprehensive work that "covered the political chain of events leading up to the Civil War." (Walther, xii) The only problem with Potter's book is that it is quite lengthy, also scholarship had advanced by leaps and bounds since the mid 1970's in regards to history. There had been other works published that came close to Potters but lacked in content or were still too long to be useful in many settings or academia. This is how Walther began this endeavor, with the help of course of many other scholars. Walthers book embodies the central themes necessary to understand the period of American history leading up to the Civil War, such as; the tug of war between the North and South in regards to manufacturing and agriculture and how this tug of war affected the political scene of the time, the issue of cheap foreign labor vs. slavery in the South, racial integration in the South vs. racial segregation in the North, and the code of "honor" in the South vs. the work ethic in the North.
In detailing the major themes of the book, Walther uses thought provoking facts and statistics that many casual readers would not have known, and many academics may not have had understood the magnitude of a given subject. Walther also compares cultural differences that greatly affected the politics of the time, especially in discussions about a Southern "code of honor" and the Northern work ethic and how both tied into each sections views on slavery. This view is tied in almost every theme, as Walther obviously felt that these basic cultural differences were a large part of the issues facing America at the time. In contrast, the book could have included more in depth analysis on the Compromise of 1850, as this event was a political juggernaut that propelled many an emotional politician into a position of power or authority. This would have given a better picture of issues regarding expansion and slavery without adding too much "dry" material to the book.
In conclusion, The Shattering of the Union: America in the 1850's is a well written, condensed work of American history that does not leave the reader confused or bored. The work is full of stimulating information that is tied to a subject matter that in the past, few authors gave insight.

The latest addition to the outstanding Scholarly Resources "The American Crisis Series", The Shattering Of The Union: America In The 1850s by Eric H. Walther (University of Houston) informatively examines the complex, severe, and violent national debate over slavery that would eventually lead to the Civil War. A critical examination of history which is scholarly, exceptionally well written, and suited for classroom presentation, The Shattering Of The Union is utterly compelling and recommended non-specialist general reader and Civil War buff interested in learning more about America in the days just before its deadliest internal conflict. The Shattering Of The Union is a welcome contribution to American history collections.