Tragic Years, 1860-1865: A Documentary History of the American Civil War (review)

92CIVIL WA R HISTORY teristics which are less favorable. These less favorable attributes emphasize Johnson's own considerable responsibility for the course of events in Reconstruction , since Johnson himself was, in McKitrick's phrase, a "causal agent" in those events—a "causal agent," for example, in the split which developed between Johnson and such "moderate Republican" leaders as Fessenden and Trumbull, a "causal agent" in the development of a recalcitrant spirit in the South, and a "causal agent" in the events which led to his own impeachment, This revised portrait by McKitrick, which bears some similarity to that found in the pages of James Ford Rhodes, thus stresses "how Andrew Johnson threw away his own power as President and as party leader, how he assisted materially, in spite of himself, in blocking the reconciliation of North and South, and what his behavior did toward disrupting the political life of an entire nation" [p.14]. This revised interpretation of Johnson, as McKitrick is careful to point out, rests on approximately the same source materials, manuscript and printed, which were known to Beale, Milton, and Randall; it represents, therefore, the viewing of familiar source materials in a differentTight, and it poses a crucial question to which scholars, in the opinion of this reviewer, should devote more thought and effort: When confronted with widely differing interpretations by qualified experts, how does one deterrnine which version is more accurate on some basis which is not primarily a reflection of his own ideological preferences or biases? For readers who take this question seriously, McKitrick has performed a real service, for he has described explicitly the respects in which he has seen the source materials in a different light from his predecessors; thus the reader can pinpoint precisely the points at issue between McKitrick and Beale and the evidence cited by each historian. (See, for example, pp. 367 ff., 511 ff.) This reviewer's conclusion is that McKitrick has in some respects overemphasized the responsibility of Andrew Johnson as a "causal agent" in Reconstruction, but that his interpretations of Johnson and of Reconstruction provide a much more accurate guide than those advanced by Beale-MiltonRandall . Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction also contains many interesting and instructive comments on the methods and problems of historical research and interpretation, and it is written in a literary style which, though overly wordy at times, is marked by a clarity and gracefulness which is refreshing and attractive. McKitrick's book should take precedence over Beale's The Critical Year in the minds, the lecture notes, and the reading lists of historians. Thomas J. Pressly University of Washington Tragic Years, 1860-1865: A Documentary History of the American Civil War. Edited by Paul M. Angle and Earl Schenck Miers. (New York: Simon & Schuster, I960. 2 volumes. Pp. vii, 1,098. $15.00.) In more than a thousand pages, Angle and Miers have re-created from con- Book Reviews93 temporary documents the terrible story of the American Civil War. Their judicious selection of materials, their sparkling running commentary (constituting perhaps a fourth of the book), and where required for understanding , their choice of excerpts from the world of scholarship, make this an exceedingly attractive offering for the centennial period. Though the editors are willing to pass judgment on men and events, it is unlikely that they will be accused of bias, Northern or Southern. One of the delights of their presentation is the placing side by side of contradictory evidence or attitudes, with the resolution to be made in the mind of the reader. As might well be expected, the major emphasis is on military events, but there is room aplenty for foreign affairs, Lincoln's struggle with emancipation , treatment of the Negro, prison life, the home fronts with their constantly shifting public opinion, disloyal opposition, corruption, and the increasing brutality of the war. For one of the few times in a general work, the United States and the Confederacy west of the Mississippi and the high seas of the world are not neglected. The big brass and the little people are all here: civilians, nurses, prisoners of war, correspondents, housewives, politicians , preachers, ex-slaves, spies; in fact, all sorts of participants and...