Battle Cry of Freedom:The Civil War Era - James McPherson

Written by James McPherson
Read by Jonathan Davis
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Oxford History of the United States, book 6
Battle Cry of Freedom: Volume 1
Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
Battle Cry of Freedom: Volume 2
Length: 19 hrs and 44 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books

James McPherson’s fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War including the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. From there it moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself–the battles, the strategic maneuvering by each side, the politics, and the personalities. Particularly notable are McPherson’s new views on such matters as the slavery expansion issue in the 1850s, the origins of the Republican Party, the causes of secession, internal dissent and anti-war opposition in the North and the South, and the reasons for the Union’s victory.

The book’s title refers to the sentiments that informed both the Northern and Southern views of the conflict. The South seceded in the name of that freedom of self-determination and self-government for which their fathers had fought in 1776, while the North stood fast in defense of the Union founded by those fathers as the bulwark of American liberty. Eventually, the North had to grapple with the underlying cause of the war, slavery, and adopt a policy of emancipation as a second war aim. This “”new birth of freedom,”" as Lincoln called it, constitutes the proudest legacy of America’s bloodiest conflict.

This authoritative volume makes sense of that vast and confusing “”second American Revolution”" we call the Civil War, a war that transformed a nation and expanded our heritage of liberty.”

If you are looking for a comprehensive survey of the cultural, political, economic, and social landscape of the period, the nature of which all fed into the ultimate decision by the South to try and leave the union, this is the book you should read.

If you want to follow up with a chronological detailed view of the war and battles then the 3 volume series (50hrs each) by Shelby Foote is for you.

The original rip was not mine. It had 34 disks in tracks of 3min each and strangely numbered. I hope everything is in the right order and I didn’t miss any “this is disk/this ends….