Lincoln's Abolitionist General: The Biography of David Hunter (review)

68CIVIL WAR HISTORY Mark Summers examines Buchanan's relationship with Democratic newspapers , traditionally a powerful tool in the hands of the party's leaders. As the very nature ofnews gathering and reporting changed, the press became increasingly independent. This newfound independence, which Buchanan unwittingly encouraged, made the president look weaker than his predecessors to both contemporaries and historians, thus contributing to his diminished reputation. William Gienapp compares Buchanan to Abraham Lincoln, his immediate successor. In a predictable but interesting piece, he finds Lincoln, despite his arguably inferior qualifications, a superior leader. Labeling Buchanan a "political anachronism" (120), he echoes a familiar theme running through most of the essays: the changing political climate required a new outlook which was clearly beyond Buchanan's abilities. The tried and true precepts of the Second Party System no longer resonated with the American public. This point is explored in greater depth and nicely tied together by Peter Knupfer, whose essay on the election of 1 860 succinctly defines the changing political paradigm that made Buchanan one of its most prominent casualties. Foreign policy in LatinAmerica emerges as one ofthe few bright spots of the Buchanan administration. In a persuasively documented essay, Robert May challenges the traditional perception of Buchanan as a lackey of Southern expansionists , portraying him instead as a staunch foe of illicit filibustering expeditions . Although guardedly optimistic about Buchanan's foreign policy, May still concludes that ultimately "we may never be able to carry Buchanan many steps out of the presidential cellar" (139-40). James Buchanan and the Political Crisis ofthe 1850s closes with a roundtable discussion featuring Don Fehrenbacher, Kenneth Stampp, Robert Johannsen, and Elbert Smith. While never coming to any real consensus about subject matter , the panelists agreed that Buchanan and his era deserved further study. In doing so, they underscored the value of this collection. Coming to terms with Buchanan's failed presidency means looking past stereotypes and considering the complexity of American political culture in the 1850s. This volume provides a solid foundation for further exploration. Kurt Hackemer University of South Dakota Lincoln 's Abolitionist General: The Biography ofDavid Hunter. By Edward A. Miller, Jr. (Columbia: University of South Carolina, 1997. Pp. x, 293. $29.95.) David Hunter does not fit the description of the average antislavery reformer. He was a career military officer who graduated from West Point in 1 822, and before turning to antislavery he led a company of dragoons on the frontier and twice challenged men to duels. He served in the Mexican War as paymaster and retained a friendship with Jefferson Davis from 1 829 until secession. When he converted to antislavery in 1856, he was one of the few army officers who BOOK REVIEWS69 advocated an end to the evil before the outbreak of the war. According to an aide, he "converted to the antislavery faith by witnessing the atrocities of the Border Ruffians" in Kansas, where he was stationed as a paymaster (46). Hunter's antislavery views resembled those of Lincoln, a friend from i860 through the end of the war. Hunter's "primary concern—as it was Lincoln's— was preservation of the Union" (53). Both men, Miller says, considered emancipation "a means for victory" rather than "a war objective" (264). In this sense, Hunter was Lincoln's antislavery (not abolitionist) general. Yet Hunter was "far ahead of the administration with respect to the continuation of slavery in slave states, slaves as legal property, and even arming slaves for war" (53). He applauded Fremont's proclamation to free the slaves of disloyal owners in Missouri , and in November 1 86 1 he told SenatorTrumbull ofIllinois that the "Great God ofthe Universe has determined that ... the only way in which this war is to be ended" is by "advancing] south, proclaiming the negro free and arming him as I go" (79). After taking command of the Department of the South in March 1 862, he acted on the divine message: he declared free all slaves in South Carolina , Georgia, and Florida and enlisted the first blacks as soldiers in the Union army. Miller suggests that the Hunter's antislavery actions stemmed primarily from his military ambitions, "although he could have had...