Battle Cry of Freedom

The Civil War Era

By: James M. McPherson

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

James M. McPherson, professor emeritus of U.S. history at Princeton, is one of the foremost scholars of the Civil War. In this informative and meticulously researched masterpiece, he clarifies the differing ways of life and philosophy that led to this shattering conflict.

Abraham Lincoln wondered whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the government. Jefferson Davis felt forced to take up arms to guarantee his states rights. McPherson merges the words of these men and other political luminaries, housewives, and soldiers from both armies with his own concise analysis of the war to create a story as compelling as any novel.

Battle Cry of Freedom vividly traces how a new nation was forged when a war both sides were sure would amount to little dragged for four years and cost more American lives than all other wars combined. Narrator Jonathan Davis powerful reading brings to life the many voices of the Civil War.

©2003 James Macpherson (P)2020 Recorded Books, Inc.

beautiful

I've been studying the American civil war for the past 3 years and this book has put all together in an extremely cohesive informative way. I can't hardly wait for the next one in the series

A magnificent history and an enjoyable read

I’ve owned the hardback version of this book for at least twenty years, but it went unread, if only due to the hefty size of the volume (and perhaps due to limited interest, on my part, in the American Civil War). So, this was one of those books (of which there are several) that I undertook to listen to on Audible, if only to assuage my own guilt and embarrassment at having so many books on my bookshelf that I had not read. But finally getting to this book, by whatever means, was an incredible treat.

Somehow I managed to get through an above-average secondary school education and obtain an Ivy League degree in the Humanities without learning much at all about the Civil War — which is almost a crime. This book introduced me, not only to the broad outlines of the war, but the factors that led up to it and the the various protagonists who charted the course of the nation during the period. “Popular Sovereignty,” “Nativists,” “Free-soil,” “Know-nothings,” “Lecompton Constitution,” “Copperheads,” “Butternuts —“ these were all terms and political groupings that I was entirely unacquainted with prior to reading this book.

I found the portion of the book that dealt with the lead-up to the Civil War to be of greatest personal interest. I noted that some reviewers were disappointed in the coverage of specific battles of the war itself, but I found it more than adequate — and there are of course many, many other works that focus on the nuts and bolts of war. The book makes me want to go on to read a great deal more about the period of Reconstruction, about which I also am shamefully ill-informed.

I was shocked to read the quoted excerpts from some politicians (and not all of them in the Confederacy) in defense of slavery. I had grown up with the assumption that perhaps the South defended this practice with some kind of embarrassment, as a necessary evil, or some such thing. But these were times in which men (yes, it seems, mostly men) proclaimed the superiority of slave-owning societies and even declared abolitionists to be “immoral” or “un-biblical.” The inclusion of ample quotations to this effect was a stunning revelation to me, and completely wiped away any notion that I may have had concerning the Civil War’s cause being “states’ rights” or any such thing.

In a way, there was an advantage to having waited to read this book. In the years since it was first published, we’ve had debates in our nation concerning things that most of us thought were settled. Renewed debate concerning Confederate statues and monuments, and the state of race relations in this country make so much more sense after reading this book. I never realized (or perhaps, wanted to realize), for example, that many of our military bases were named after notorious, treasonous generals and politicians who were defeated, and rightly so. One definitely comes to understand the assertion by some that the Civil War is yet to be concluded.

I’m glad that I own the hardback of this book; it was very helpful to step away from the audiobook and review the maps, photos, etc. But I feel very fortunate to have both media in my possession, as this was an enjoyable listen and the narrator does a superb job.

Battle Cry of Freedom is a Masterpiece

James Macpherson’s book is a masterpiece of research, composition and exposition. In it’s flowing swirling recounting of the almost countless contingencies attending this history, I was actually enthralled to find out how it would end and who won.

Empower yourself with the information to dispel American myths.

Compelling and indisputable evidence dispelling myths romanticizing the slave owning south and their motivations against the constitutional government of the United States

Detailed Account

The most detailed account of the civil war and the events that led to it, that have come across. An astounding account.