Abstract
The four-year war that eventually descended on the nation seemed impossible only months before it began. Powerful conflicts pulled the United States apart in the decades before 1860, but shared interests, cultures, and identities tied the country together, sometimes in new ways. So confident were they in the future that Americans expected that the forces of cohesion would triumph over the forces of division.
Document Type
Book Chapter
ISBN
1578646626
Publication Date
2011
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2011 Donning Co. Publishers. This article first appeared in The Civil War Remembered.
Please note that downloads of the book chapter are for private/personal use only.
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Recommended Citation
Ayers, Edward L. "The United States on the Eve of the Civil War." In The Civil War Remembered, edited by National Parks Service. Brookfield,Mo: The Donning Co. Publishers, 2011.