HI 4303 (Old South)

Hersey

11/22/10

Review of Charles B. Dew, Apostles of Disunion (2001)

Charles B. Dew's Apostles of Disunion delves into the controversial topic of the causes of the Civil War and the secession of the states that eventually became the Confederate States of America. There are many accounts that point to defending states' rights as the primary cause of the Civil War. However, most people believe that slavery was the main and primary concern the deep South cited for seceding from the Union to form their own separate country focused on individual liberty and the progression of slavery in those states. Dew makes the point that searching for the cause for the Civil War is a search that continues to be debated today among historical scholars. Therefore, Apostles of Disunion and Charles Dew ask the reader to ponder and answer the question: “What was the cause of the Civil War?” Dew focuses his primary support for answering this question by looking at speeches and letters from men termed Commissioners. Commissioners were men appointed from each state to go to each of the slave-holding states in the South and present the state Congress with their home states thoughts on secession and slavery and the new Republican national government. These men were charged with the task of convincing the other states' governments to side with the soon-to-be unified South in her desire to ward of Northern aggression and plans to eradicate slavery in the Union. The best and brightest orators and politicians from each state were chosen for this daunting task which required much travel and much persuasion in certain states, ex. Virginia. By looking at and studying these speeches and letters, the reader can get a glimpse into the view points Southerners were feeling and thinking during the time period leading to Southern Secession. The reader gets a