North Carolina Unionists and the Fight Over Secession - by Steve M Miller (Paperback)

Dimensions (Overall): 8.9 Inches (H) x 6 Inch (W) x .5 Inch (D)
Weight: .7 Pounds
Number of Pages: 144
Genre: History
Sub-Genre: United States
Format: Paperback
Publisher: History Press
Author: Steve M Miller
Age Range: Adult
Book theme: State & Local
Language: English

Book Synopsis

Before the Civil War, North Carolina was divided by the battle over secession. Some state leaders remained loyal to the Union because they saw the potential for compromise with Northern states. William Alexander Graham helped broker the Compromise of 1850. John Motley Morehead and Jonathan Worth led the campaign against secession in early 1861. Most continued to serve their state under the Confederacy. Although Zebulon B. Vance opposed secession, he served in the Confederate army and as governor of the state during the Civil War. Historian and author Steve M. Miller tells the story of the Tar Heel Unionists who bravely fought to steer their state away from the disastrous future they foresaw.

Review Quotes

"North Carolina Unionists draws sensible conclusions from the evidence it uses and Miller's writing style is very accessible. Readers looking for a basic overview of the principal events that lead up to the Civil War, particularly from North Carolina's perspective, will find Miller's book useful and instructive." Civil War Monitor

"Unraveling the history of those who saw the potential for compromise with the North against those opposed to the idea of continuing unification is no small task. But in concise, accessible and well-researched prose, Miller walks us through the crisis leading to the 1861 division and a separationist conviction that would linger even after the war's denouement.

Indeed, one of Miller's gifts is exploring a pro-Union attitude as he documents history: "Secession and all it carried with it, including war and an uncertain future for North Carolina and the South, was a hard and painful reality of the state's Unionists. They had fought, some since the 1830s, to see that disputes, disagreements, feuds and outright hatred toward the North did not turn into disunion and sectional violence. In the end, disunion was a train that could not be stopped, until it finally derailed in 1865." Watauga Democrat "