McPherson's emphasis on moral and ideological factors in war gives his book a significance well beyond its specific subject. Frontline idealism seemed to prevail on both sides, perhaps to the surprise of a more cynical 20th century. More than 80% of the war's combatants were literate, which may help to explain why McPherson's sources convincingly reflect the character and experience of the armies. United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865. McPherson, however, perceives the Civil War basically as a struggle for the heritage of 1776, a struggle in which Southerners sought freedom from a tyrannical government, while Northerners believed the republican experiment could not survive if the legitimacy of secession were established. Drawn with the sword : reflections on the American Civil War. Northerners, on the other hand, combined morality and pragmatism in their acceptance of abolition as essential in preserving the Union. His other bestselling books include For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War, Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War, What They Fought For, 1861-1865 Gettysburg. Slavery was a crucial factor, he observes: Southerners regarded it as part of their way of life. McPherson, PhD, an American history expert and one of the most distinguished historians of our time, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. McPherson ( Battle Cry of Freedom ), a Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War scholar, here calls on letters and diaries, many unpublished, to present a strong case that both Union and Confederate soldiers made war motivated primarily by considerations of principle.
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