by Charles B. Dew
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Product Description
In 1860-1861, five Deep South states appointed "commissioners" to other slave states to spread the word about secession and explain why existing circumstances made such action necessary. These 52 men visited other slave states and spoke to public gatherings, legislatures and state conventions.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Annihilates Redeemer Myths, 2008-12-24
One can still hear the refrain that "slavery had no bearing on the Civil War; the war was fought over state's rights." Drew refutes that comforting delusion better than anyone I have seen. This book uses the words and actions of Southern leaders to convict them of treason. Drew's succinct, plain, and professional scholarship will leave readers convinced of the centrality of secessionists' actions in defense of ever-expanding slaveholder rights to the origins of the Civil War. A great, depressing book.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 Innovative But Incomplete Viewpoint, 2008-08-04
Apostles of Disunion by Charles B. Dew is a concise and fresh look at the causes of the Civil War as observed through the oratory and writings of the commissioners that were sent by the seceded Southern republics to the other Southern states to plead the case of secession. Dew has done an admirable job in compiling the words of these commissioners and analyzing them to the degree that he theorizes that slavery - and not states rights - was at the heart of the cause of the war. Unfortunately, while the case can be made that racism and slavery were at the heart of the secession case presented to the Southern states, it is hardly a broad reaching statement that sums up the viewpoint of all Southerners. The book lacks any look at the opinions of the men who joined the ranks and the people that supported them on the homefront. Statistics have proven that a majority of Southerners at the time of the war were not slaveholders. And the opinion of individuals - judges, lawyers, etc - selected by politicians in the various seceded state legislatures may not have necessarily represented the viewpoint of all Southern citizens. Rather, these opinions were put forth in words by men of the powerful slaveholding class who were looking out for themselves.
I appreciate Dew's effort, and I think any Civil War buff will too. But the viewpoint of the commissioners is simply too narrow to draw broad conclusions on the causes of the war.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The secret is out!, 2008-05-29
I consider this little book one of the best commentaries on the causes of the civil war I have found. Revisionist have tried to butter over the the driving forces that convinced Southern leaders that Disunion was a better option than the devastation and human sacrifice they knew that war would cause our counrty.
Written from a Southern perspective, the author brings out all the emotional animosity, racial angst and raw insult being felt as the result of the the North abolition movement and Black Republicans election victory in 1860 in the actual words of the Secession Commissioners.
It is not pretty but it contains the best explanation of the "why" question so many people have wrestled with over the last 140 years.
This book has great historical value!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Great insight into the causes of the Civil War with evidence from innovative primary sources, 2008-05-11
This is a must-read for any serious Civil War enthusiast, and a fun, quick read for anyone interested in American history or non-fiction in general. Dew sheds light on the heated debate on if it was about states' rights or slavery after all. I don't want to spoil it because I think Dew's evidence speaks volumes about the subject.
It's a quick read with nice, spaced out text that's easy on the eyes. I think it's about a 2 hour ordeal to get through it, and you emerge with a lot more knowledge than you think you can amass in such a short time. Dew writes clearly and cogently, and he exercises the invaluable trait of a historian to let the primary evidence do the talking. I was very impressed by the enlightenment that this little book had to offer.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
A persuasive case, 2006-08-19
Dew's book provides irrefutable evidence that the Confederacy was founded not to preserve the U.S. Constitution, or even states' rights, but to preserve slavery. The documents he cites (and reproduces) are letters and speeches from "secession commissioners" sent out from the lower south states (that seceded immediately after Abraham Lincoln was elected president) to other southern states. The commissioners uniformly laid out their single case for secession: preservation of slavery, and, by extension, white supremacy.
While Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens and others made this case loudly at the founding of the Confederacy, their about-faces after the war (when they claimed slavery had been the last thing on their minds) worked to convince many Americans that the Civil War was fought over states' rights.
Dew handles some pretty horrible material calmly and thoroughly, setting the stage for the commissioners, then letting them hang themselves with their own rope. It's a must-read for anyone studying U.S. history.
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